


Please Don't Stand So Close to Me

by The_Quartermasters



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Age Difference, Coitus Interruptus, Comedy of Errors, Light Bondage, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 15:25:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11649381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Quartermasters/pseuds/The_Quartermasters
Summary: After a year of being away, Dino returns to Japan to offer Tsuna more tutelage... and to struggle with his increasingly persistent and unacceptable attraction to Kyouya.(Originally posted under the title "One Year Itch" which was a terrible title. Written in 2008.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one that I wasn't sure about reposting. (There's a LOT of my old fic that I haven't reposted... because it's just too filthy to see the light of day now that I'm a responsible adult.) I can't really talk about why without giving away the plot but in the end, I feel okay about it.
> 
> HEY THIS WAS WRITTEN IN JANUARY OF 2008 WAO. So let's keep in mind that IN JAPAN, in the manga, the start of the time skip arc had JUST come out, probably around Target 155. We didn't have a ten year bazooka to skip forward and read the next 250 chapters of manga so just bear with the inconsistencies with the canon. JUST ENJOY YOUR FIC FROM THE PAST.

It had seemed an innocent enough thing at the time -- a kiss stolen in the midst of training. A clash of whip against steel, a parry, a kiss. Hibari had laid him flat for the first time the moment it happened and Dino had laughed, cockily proclaiming that 'it had worked'. Perhaps it was actually an innocent thing for it had never been spoken of again.  
  
Even after a year had passed and training had ceased and the world became peaceful again. Dino had returned to Italy and he wrote every now and then but Hibari ignored him. When he returned on business, to help Tsuna prepare for the more mundane tasks of being a mafioso, he didn't expect for Hibari to welcome him with open arms. And he hadn't been disappointed.  
  
Still, now that they occupied the same continent, Dino's occasional letters became frequent phone calls and since Hibari never picked up the phone when he saw Dino's name accompanying the incessant ringing, the young Italian man began to employ the fine art of text messages.  
  
_Hey, Kyouya! Been a while, hm?_  
  
_Hey Kyouya! How are things? You must be very busy lately!_  
  
_Hey Kyouya, I've got some free time this Friday..._  
  
_Hey Kyouya! Wanna see a movie?_  
  
_Hey, Kyouya, I'll buy the tickets if you get the popcorn!_  
  
_Hey Kyouya! Hey! You awake?_  
  
It was quickly becoming a threat that Hibari was going to have to destroy his cell phone. This wouldn't do. So he blocked Dino's number.  
  
It was a little disturbing for a text message to come from Sawada Tsunayoshi's number stating,  _Stop playing hard to get, Kyouya!_  
  
Three hours later came the first reply, to Dino's phone rather than the young Vongola. Simply,  _When?_  
  
If joy could be transmitted through text messaging, Dino's reply would have been dripping with it.  _:D :D :D :D! 6:30?_  
  
_Fine._  
  
_Yay! :3 I'll pick you up!_  
  
True to his word, at 6:29, Dino's car pulled up to the school, at the same place he'd appeared each day during their training a year ago. The young Italian himself was driving, his right hand man in the passenger seat. The window buzzed down and Dino draped himself over it, calling out in an irritatingly loud voice. "Hey! Kyouya!"  
  
Hibari had to wonder as he descended the steps exactly what he'd got himself in to -- and all for the sake of saving his cell phone. Wouldn't it have been easier to change his number? He was just as crisp as usual, uniform pressed and red band clean and bright on his shoulder. He nodded faintly to Romario as he approached the car.  
  
The older Italian was already slipping from his seat to hold the door open for Hibari, taking the backseat for himself when the door was closed again.  
  
Dino turned, looking Hibari up and down with a grin. "You've gotten taller!" he decided.  
  
"You can't tell sitting down," Hibari replied logically, even if it was likely true. He settled, buckled and looked ahead, not so much avoiding Dino's gaze as completely ignoring it.  
  
Dino laughed pleasantly. "Perhaps, perhaps," he admitted. "We'll have to check when we get to the theater! If I remember, before you came up just to my shoulder..."  
  
The blond Italian occupied most of the drive by talking to Hibari --an activity that consisted of him mostly talking to himself-- and though Hibari didn't speak much, neither did he snap angrily or demand that Dino keep his mouth shut. It seemed, that a year of real life had somewhat mellowed the angry prefect. Dino couldn't help but smile.  
  
Hibari waited to speak again until the car had come to a stop and Romario opened his door and stepped out. "Do you think this is a date?" Hibari asked frankly, turning his steely gaze on Dino for the first time in a year.  
  
Dino blinked in surprise but recovered quickly. "Kyouya," he began, smiling, friendly, as casual as ever. "Do you really think I would be so presumptuous?"  
  
"Yes," Hibari replied flatly but then Romario was opening his door for him and he stepped out of the car.  
  
Dino followed, clicking the car locked and passing the keys to Romario with a nod of thanks before falling into step with his young guest. "It's not a date," he whispered, leaning close to Hibari's ear. "Are you disappointed?"  
  
"No," Hibari replied evenly. But nor did he say that he was relieved. "What are we seeing?" The question sounded like a threat.  
  
"Welll," Dino intoned, "You have a choice. We can see "Psycho Mutant Lizard Zombies in..." he glanced at his watch, "5 minutes, or we can catch the 8 o'clock showing of Blue July and grab some dinner first. There's a great little shop right around the corner."  
  
Hibari grimaced faintly, set with the choice of watching a horrible movie or having dinner with Dino. Lizard zombies and the Italian were an admittedly difficult pair to choose between. "Fine. Dinner." Eating was ultimately a necessity anyway.  
  
"Great!" Dino chirped, clearly unsurprised at his companion's choice. Without missing a beat, he steered their steps around the theater to a little sushi shop tucked away inconspicuously and boasting a single lit lantern to identify it as open and accepting customers. "Sorry it couldn't be Italian, but I've yet to find a place in Japan that does pasta primavera justice."  
  
The middle-aged man who greeted them when Dino pushed into the restaurant seemed to know him and directed them toward a table near the back with further lantern lighting and lovely woodblock prints on the wall. "Order whatever you want," Dino invited. Romario, having followed them in perfect silence, took up a place at the far end of the bar and ordered sake.  
  
The lack of complaint on Hibari's tongue spoke of approval though -- he probably wouldn't have cared for heavy Italian food anyway. He didn't protest to Dino buying him dinner, perhaps a bit surprisingly, but settled in and ordered in quiet, polite tones. The atmosphere was pleasant and somehow unruined by the pushy boy's presence.  
  
The woman who brought them their tea beamed at Dino when he thanked her, first in Italian and then in Japanese. A moment later she returned with a plate of hyayakko at no extra charge and smiled at Hibari.  
  
The owner himself brought their order, presenting it, then bowing deeply. "Dino-san always remembers our humble restaurant."  
  
Dino grinned and clasped the man's arms. "The best in town. I tell all my friends."  
  
"And what a handsome young man you've brought with you this evening!" the woman exclaimed, having appeared to refill their still steaming cups of tea.  
  
Hibari murmured quiet thanks, his hands closing on his cup in such a way that if Dino didn't know any better, he might have thought of it as bashful.  
  
It was a rather long moment before Dino tore his gaze away from the sight of this Kyouya to once more thank their hosts. After a second polite exchange, the two young men were left alone to enjoy the meal.  
  
"I hope you like it," Dino said, sipping his tea distractedly. "Maybe it's not the best food in Japan, but the people always go out of their way to make guests feel welcome and at home. Even strange gaijin like me." He laughed quietly.  
  
"They don't know any better," Hibari replied, picking up his chopsticks with grace and dignity. It was a small, family restaurant but the presentation of his sashimi was excellent. None of this was of course voiced as he began eating.  
  
"As charismatic as ever, Kyouya," Dino smiled, torn, for a brief moment between beginning his own meal and watching Hibari eat. There was a gentle delicacy present when Kyouya held chopsticks that while not exactly missing from the way he held a tonfa, still presented an infinitely more peaceful vision of the Vongola's Cloud. " _Piacevole...._ " was the murmured Italian, barely audible on his tongue.  
  
Hibari's eyes lifted at his murmurs -- he'd always hated hearing Dino speak in Italian, even if he'd just barely caught it. It was an unfair advantage that he had, being able to hide behind his foreign language. "What did you say?" he demanded quietly, civilly.  
  
Dino gave a little start, embarrassed to be caught. He rubbed vaguely at the back of his head, a decidedly Japanese gesture the clumsy man had found so much opportunity to use that it had become second nature. He lowered his eyes to his own plate, hardly touched. When he found Hibari's gaze again, something had changed, the embarrassment was gone, replaced by something firmer. "Do you really want to know?"  
  
Hibari was chewing, unconcerned but not willing to let Dino get away with whatever he was trying to get away with. He swallowed and answered plainly. "Yes."  
  
Dino took a bite of his own, taking his time to answer Hibari's question, holding his gaze until he swallowed, sweeping a thumb needlessly across his mouth, an unconscious habit.  
  
"What I said was 'lovely'." Even in Japanese, Dino accented the word, duplicating the tone of voice with which the Italian had slipped, almost wistful and accidental from his lips.  
  
The younger boy paused, narrowed his eyes a bit. "Perhaps I didn't want to know," he said at length, turning his gaze back to his food.  
  
The blond only shrugged, unapologetic, and finally turned his attention to the food in front of him. He didn't consider himself an expert of Japanese food, but to his palate, this little restaurant really was exceptional. Then again, he'd always felt a meal was better with company. Even the company of a sour, young Japanese man. "I really am glad you decided to come tonight," he said at length, when the owner's wife had come to refill their tea and left again. "It's been a long time."  
  
"It has been a long time," was one thing that Hibari was able to agree with. "You haven't changed at all," he observed though his tone was ambiguous. A simple observation.  
  
Dino leaned against the table, settling his weight on his forearms and resting his gaze on Hibari's stony face. "You -have- changed," he said. "Although I think you are trying to pretend that you haven't by glaring at me with that same irritated expression."  
  
"Maybe I have changed," Hibari replied, paused for a bite. "But you're still just as irritating."  
  
"Not irritating enough for you to turn down my invitation."  
  
"Irritating enough to be forced into it," Hibari corrected.  
  
"Do my ears deceive me? The great Hibari Kyouya?  _Forced_  to do -anything- against his will? Why, I had no idea I was so powerful!" Dino leaned forward, plucked a piece of sushi from Hibari's plate and winked. "I'm flattered."  
  
Hibari wrinkled his nose with distaste. "Be quiet," he said with the closest thing to exasperation that Dino had ever heard in the boy's voice. He busied himself with his tea.  
  
Dino laughed silently as he ate the purloined morsel. Hibari had changed... a year ago, he would have tried to take Dino's hand off for such an offense. Now he merely bristled and pouted. "How -are- you these days?" Dino finally asked, doing his best to disguise his sudden vague sense of worry. "I've only had second hand reports from young Tsuna."  
  
"I'm fine." Hibari's response was as though Dino were a worried mother. "Things are... peaceful." The 'boring' was audible in his tone.  
  
"Ah..." The young Italian seemed to understand; his nod was thoughtful. "Plenty of time, then, to properly manage the discipline of your school, hmm?"  
  
"Mm," Hibari agreed, examining his few remaining pieces of sushi quietly. "True." He wasn't about to admit to this blond ruffian that his exploits with Sawada Tsunayoshi had left something of a sour taste in his mouth. There were times that he wondered if he hadn't been better off not knowing, particularly if the Vongola (which he had been unwillingly inducted into) turned out to be as dull and peaceful as Sawada seemed to be determined to make it.  
  
"Forgive me, Kyouya, --and believe me when I say I mean our young Vongola no disrespect-- but I think that sitting idle hardly suits you," Dino spoke quietly, all the easy honesty of a boy who had become a man rather quickly.  
  
"I know that," Hibari said, surprisingly without defense or irritation. He sipped his tea. "Don't underestimate me."  
  
Dino blinked. "I don't," he said, no teasing or playfulness evident in his voice. "Do you think I do? I assure you I don't."  
  
There was an awkward moment that followed in which Hibari avoided Dino's eyes because it was strange when he was serious. The dark haired boy's mouth pursed in something that resembled irritation but didn't quite make it. "I know you don't," he finally said. "What time is it?"  
  
"Ah," Dino pushed his sleeve up to look at his watch. "7:35." He turned to ask for the check, but the owner, had already appeared, receipt in hand. Dino thanked him and paid, knowing that Hibari would not protest and glad of it. When he stood, leftovers in hand and coat in the other, he waited for Hibari to proceed him, smiled quietly as he caught Romario's eye and nodded. "Front, middle or back?" he asked Hibari conversationally as they headed for the door amidst calls of thanks and come-agains.  
  
"Back," Hibari replied firmly. He didn't think he needed to explain his distaste for being in a room full of people, let alone having them all looking over his shoulder. And when he said back, he meant it for the seats he chose were in the very back row in the very corner of the theater.  
  
For his part, Dino made no further comment aside from "Good seats!" and though it was possible he was making fun of the boy, nothing in his voice spoke anything but sincerity. Lucky for Hibari, the film they'd chosen wasn't nearly as popular as Zombie Lizards and aside from a small handful of other film goers (and Romario, who positioned himself one row down from them on the other side of the theater), they were mostly alone. Certainly no one else had chosen the very back row. Dino hoped it would let his young companion relax somewhat.  
  
Hibari wasn't much of an avid movie goer and he was sure that Dino had to realize that. But the movie was just interesting enough to at least keep him in his seat -- if only because it was a Japanese film and rich with culture if not directing or acting. The quiet, mostly empty theater and dark seats did as Dino hoped, allow the boy to relax (also perhaps not hearing Dino's voice) even if he watched the screen with a measure of disinterest. It was better than zombie lizards anyway.  
  
It was a little less than halfway through that a gentle weight slumped against Hibari's shoulder and when the boy glanced over, he could just make out Dino's peaceful, dozing face. Apparently the Italian didn't appreciate Japanese culture as much as he claimed. Hibari sighed faintly but he didn't bother waking him. As long as he didn't sink any closer, it was tolerable.  
  
Dino woke to the young man, jostling his shoulder lightly as the lights came up. There was a moment of disorientation which gave way to embarrassment. "A-ah," he brushed the hair from his faintly pink face as he followed Hibari to his feet. "I guess I dozed off," he said, smiling but apologetic. The theater was empty and Romario seemed to have already left to get the car.  
  
"It wasn't that good anyway," Hibari said with a shrug, clearly unagitated. With lights low and air warm it was only natural to urge to nap.  
  
It was without thought that Dino laid a hand on Hibari's shoulder, squeezed faintly. "Next time, I'll let you pick."  
  
"I did pick," Hibari protested mildly. Then paused, looking at Dino from the corner of his eye. "Who says there'll be a next time anyway?" If Dino squinted very, very hard, he might have been teasing. Maybe.  
  
Dino didn't laugh, but it looked like he wanted to. "Since I'm feeling generous tonight, I'll let -you- say it," he answered, though both of them knew that Dino would be the one filling up Hibari's inbox with text messages and calling him at strange hours of the night using jet lag adjustment as his flimsy excuse. That is, if the boy unblocked his number, anyway.  
  
"Hmm," was all Hibari responded with though and he shrugged, then looked up and opened his mouth to warn Dino to open the door --  
  
The thought came just a moment too late, as Dino managed to somehow go from casually walking to careening headlong into the theatre's exit doors. It was to his credit however that he bounced up again relatively quickly, rubbing at a mark that was destined to become a lump in the middle of his forehead. "I'm fine!" he reassured his dark-haired companion --who didn't really look like he'd been going to ask anyway--, while making a valient effort to bring Hibari back into focus.  
  
Hibari's mouth drew into a tight line. He could see where this was going -- Dino really hadn't changed at all. "Let's just get back to the car," he said.  
  
"That, I think I can do." Luckily for both involved, once the car was in sight, Dino's legs untangled themselves from eachother and he completed the brief journey without further incident. When they reached the idling vehicle, Dino stopped with his fingers on the handle and let Hibari step up beside him. "See?" he said quietly, lifting his other hand to sweep across the top of Hibari's head, drawing an invisible line to the level of his own mouth. "You -have- gotten taller."  
  
"And soon I'll tower over you," Hibari said tonelessly and placing his own fingers over Dino's, he forced the door open and stepped into the car.  
  
It took a moment for Dino to realize that he'd sat down and was waiting for the door to be closed. When he felt Hibari's eyes on him, he started awake, laughed and shut the door, walking around to the other side before letting himself in and sliding onto the seat beside the prefect.  
  
"Home?" he asked at length, "Or school? We'll take you wherever you'd like."  
  
"Namimori is fine," Hibari replied and he closed his eyes as the car shifted into gear. Familiarity was something of a vice.  
  
Dino nodded vaguely and Romario turned left.  
  
The brief drive was also a quiet one, Hibari seeming to doze and Dino half-drifting himself. When they pulled in to the school's entrance, however, Dino was wide awake.  
  
He glanced over to the boy opposite him, whose eyes were still closed and he wondered if he'd be bitten to death if he tried to wake him.  
  
"It could have been worse," Hibari's voice startled and he reached for his door handle, slipping out of the car silently.  
  
"I'll call you!" Dino called after him, leaning toward the open door. It closed behind the boy, no response forthcoming and though Dino hadn't expected one, he still couldn't help but laugh at himself, at how silly he must seem. Almost 7 years younger than you, Dino, and already he's figured you out and grown completely bored of you. And yet...  
  
The car was moving again, and the place where Hibari had sat was still a little warm.


	2. Chapter 2

The following day as he was napping in the reception lounge, Hibari realized exactly what a mistake it had been to not only spend the evening with Dino but also unblock him from his phone. When it rang twice, he dropped the call. He was only able to stomach half of the babbling voice message before he deleted it. Then came the text.  
  
 _Good Morning! Sleep well?_  
  
Hibari waited for the inevitable barrage but ten minutes later it was still the only text that had come through.  
  
His phone was staring him down from where it lay on the table. Clearly Romario had gone on a bathroom break and Dino had managed to fall from a sixth story window. If only it were so easy. He was just busy. Not that being busy had ever prevented him from making a nuisance of himself before. Was it possible that Dino was actually learning something about boundaries and respect?  
  
Impossible.  
  
It was glaring at him. He was having a staring contest with his phone and the phone was winning. If it would just vibrate, Hibari would win. He would be appropriately annoyed and maybe toss the phone in the garbage for a few hours as punishment for its disrespect. But it didn't buzz or jitter across the polished desk. So finally the phone won and he snatched it up and flipped it open.  
  
 _Fine,_  he typed.  
  
A minute later, the phone buzzed in Hibari's hand. Well, he wasn't dead.  
  
 _Oh good_ , it said, mocking him.  _I didn't throw off your schedule too much, then?_  
  
 _Too much credit,_  Hibari replied. He highly disliked texting. It was a time consuming and inefficient form of communication that caused distruption in the classroom. He'd crushed countless phones and tonfa'd countless fingers for the offense.  
  
 _Well,_  came the reply.  _I'm glad._  
  
There was a strange finality in the words. As though he didn't *expect* let alone want a reply. It was far too civil a way to end things. Would it have been just as simple if he'd responded in the first place? Likely not. But what was most suspicious was that it had been nearly fifteen hours since he'd stepped out of Dino's car and there hadn't been a second request for his presence on any level. He wondered if he had been wrong about Dino not changing at all. He needed to get out and dispatch some discipline. This was too aggravating. He tucked his phone away.  
  
In fact, it wasn't until the next morning, a Sunday, that Hibari's phone rang again. A call this time, not a text.  
  
He didn't pick it up, true to ritual. Instead he eyed the phone as he lightly petted Hibird's head. On his bedside table, the phone scooted itself across the surface as it proudly sang the Namimori school song. It was a traitor though, clearly siding with Dino in spite of its faithful tune. When it chirped with a voicemail notification, Hibird fluttered from his shoulder to investigate, landing beside the phone. The little yellow puff chirped and the phone chirped back, reminding a moment later. Hibari sighed and picked up the phone to listen to the message.  
  
"Good morning, Kyouya," the message said with Dino's voice. "Have you looked outside yet? It's a beautiful day. Too nice for driving. I'm walking downtown to get breakfast."  
  
Hibird pecked and fluttered around the phone, a powder puff of feathers.  
  
"Anyway, I have a package for you from Tsuna. Should I drop it off at the school? Let me know whenever.  _Ciao_."  
  
Hibari caught the bird on his finger as he deleted the message with his thumb. Hibird was singing happily and Hibari looked at him suspiciously. "I suppose you remember," he said and the animal fluffed excitedly at him. He set the phone down and Hibird fluttered after it, landing on top of the phone to peck at it further. Hibari watched him, frowning.  
  
Finally after a long moment, he shooed the bird away to pick up the phone and called back. When Dino's cheerful voice answered, he said flatly, "It's early."  
  
"Mm," Dino replied, not at all disturbed by Hibari's bluntness. "And I suppose you've been up for an hour at least." His voice was a tease, but only vaguely.  
  
"That's not the point," Hibari argued, lackluster. "What does Sawada need to give me?"  
  
"Oh that," Dino answered cheerfully. "I lied. Are you angry?"  
  
"You're predictable," Hibari replied, a faint hint of irritation in his voice. He startled a little when Hibird suddenly smacked into his cheek, chirping excitedly as he tried to get at the phone. When he shooed lightly, the bird landed on the back of his fingers, clinging with tiny feet and nipping faintly. "Stop that."  
  
Dino's laughter could be heard on the other end of the phone. "Is that your little golden friend?" he asked, chasing the question with a whistle, a pleasant trill that seemed to excite Hibird into early molting.  
  
"Yes," Hibari replied shortly, frowning when Hibird nipped his finger smartly. "Here, stop now." He put the phone on speaker and held it away from his ear, letting Hibird sit on the keypad. Somewhat satisfied, the little bird started singing the Namimori anthem happily. "Persistent," Hibari commented, lips pursing faintly at the sight.  
  
"He loves your school as much as you do," Dino commented, amused, his voice coming tinny from the speaker. "How long did it take you to teach him that?"  
  
"Not long," Hibari replied, his voice softening just the tiniest bit. He petted Hibird's head with a single fingertip. "He's very smart." A pause, time to get back on track. "Why did you lie?" he demanded. "Are you longing to be bitten to death?"  
  
"Will you be mad if I admit to having found that I've rather missed your threats of violence over the last year?" If there was supposed to be sarcasm in the words, Hibari couldn't find it.  
  
"Why do you suddenly care if I'm angry?" Hibari asked with disdain. In the past, his mood had been of little consequence and if anything, it had seemed always that Dino had taken delight in pushing his buttons to the point of boiling fury.  
  
Instead of answering him, Dino pretended not to have heard him at all. "Would you like to have breakfast with me?" he asked, pleasant and unconcerned.  
  
"No," Hibari replied. Hibird squawked as much as the tiny bird could. "Where?"  
  
"There's a crepes shop a few blocks down from the park near your school. CreParis?" He pronounced the name in perfect French, paused and continued. "I'm already walking there now."  
  
There was a long, silent pause. "You'll have to wait," he said shortly and hung up.  
  
It took 45 minutes for Hibari to show up, his perfect grooming proof of his reason for the wait. He was unapologetic as he approached and Hibird fluttered from his shoulder happily to greet Dino.  
  
Dino returned the cheerful hello, holding out his hand for the little bird to perch upon and laughing when it preened, fluffing itself out to nearly twice its size. As for the young Italian, he didn't appear to have been waiting long, as his cup of coffee was largely untouched and still steaming. "It's such a nice day, I decided to take the long way," he explained without prompting, lifting a finger to ruffled the feathers between Hibird's wings.  
  
Hibird chirruped happily, hopping across Dino's hand and then to his shoulder. Hibari watched silently as the creature settled in to clean himself, considerably more trusting of Dino than he himself was. He hesitated for a moment as though he wasn't sure that he actually wanted to seat himself but then did so, sinking down across from the other boy and folding his hands in front of him neatly, silently.  
  
"What would you like?" Dino asked. "Tea? Milk?" He might have been teasing him but it was difficult to tell what with the Italian's ever smooth expression. From the inside of his own jacket he pulled a handful of seeds, offering them to his tiny guest. "If we get food to go, we can take it to the park," he suggested, adding, "I'm sure Hibird would prefer that."  
  
"Tea," Hibari agreed -- if it could be called agreement. He flicked a piece of seed when it rolled across the table at him but Hibird was delighted, ruffling happily as he dove for Dino's hand and started making a mess with the shells. "That's fine," he replied at length, head turned to watch the passersby and traffic rather than his company.  
  
Dino smiled and ordered for them. Hibari drank tea while they waited for their crepes to be made and Hibird flit around the table, chasing seeds, much to the chagrin of their waitress. She seemed relieved to see them go, breakfast in hand and tiny yellow bird fluttering after them, chirruping happily and alighting occasionally to nip at first Hibari's, then Dino's hair.  
  
The park was quiet, too early for most children to have yet managed to drag their parents from bed and a bit too chill for most casual visitors, but Dino seemed comfortable, a striped scarf around his neck as he fumbled to unwrap his breakfast with gloved hands. Romario --or some other member of his Family-- must not have been too far behind, because the young Italian successfully took his first bite without a mess of strawberries and cream tumbling down his front or to the ground.  
  
Hibari wasn't sure that he could recall peaceful silence ever being so unsettling. Not when he was with Dino, the perpetual noise machine. But somehow he managed to settle himself enough as they fell into step to take a delicate bite of the nutella crepe he'd ordered, his own silence easing. Only a measure more comfortable. He didn't look at Dino, instead focusing on the path ahead and occasionally offering tiny pieces of crepe to the tiny bird that fluttered between their shoulders. First plucking at the collar of Dino's jacket, then scratching at Hibari's sweater and back again.  
  
As for the Italian, Dino seemed to be perfectly comfortable, gazing everywhere around him --except, strangely, at Hibari himself--, smiling in that quiet enigmatic way of his and sighing peacefully between bites of his own painfully pink breakfast. Hibird flitted away from a nibble of Hibari's crepe to land in Dino's hair, chirping and picking gently at the strands as though preparing to nest. The blond laughed and turned his eyes upward, trying to catch a glimpse of the little bird. "He's so friendly today," Dino finally spoke, the first words since leaving the shop.  
  
"He likes you." From the lips of any other pet-owner the words would likely have been smiling or laughing, fond. Instead Hibari's tone was begrudging as though he himself hadn't accepted the animal's affinity for the blond nuisance.  
  
Still, from the mouth of the stoic prefect, the words were tantamount to compliment and Dino took them as such, grinning broadly and offering a bit of his own crepe to the little creature. "I'm glad," he said. "I'm very fond of him as well."  
  
There was a long, heavy pause while Hibari slowly made his way through a few bites and a few sips of tea. "He may have missed you," he said at length with the same tone.  
  
Dino didn't let his eyes leave the path ahead, didn't blink or react much at all except for a slight quirk of his lips. "I may have missed him as well," only the hint of teasing in his words. "There aren't any birds like him in Italy. And none remotely as talented."  
  
"Hm," was Hibari's only response and he focused on finishing his food, one tiny lick to a fingertip when he'd taken his last bite. The morning was quiet and brisk and once he'd dropped his trash off appropriately, if Dino didn't know any better he'd say that Hibari was almost comfortable.  
  
It was a long, surprisingly comfortable silence as well that stretched between them, even Dino's propensity for chatter less than Hibari remembered. Instead he seemed thoughtful, almost pensive, distracted as Hibird tugged at his sweater. The young Italian let the quiet go unbroken for a long time before he finally spoke. "What's your favorite place in Namimori? Besides the school, I mean," he amended.  
  
Hibari looked at him oddly, with a little less disdain than normal and some reproachfulness. "Why would I tell you?" he responded. "You'd follow me there." His lips pursed as though he were hiding something else.  
  
Dino turned on his heel and continued walking, backwards now, trying to catch Hibari's eye. "Come on," he prodded, "Tell me. I promise I won't follow you there. Cross my heart," he added, a decidedly childish phrase. He said nothing, however, about not showing up first and waiting there for the prefect. Where ever 'there' was.  
  
The younger boy meanwhile skillfully turned his eye to the foliage, refusing to meet Dino's gaze. "You're a pathological liar," he told him instead, lofty.  
  
Dino laughed, shrugged, and resumed walking like an adult. "I don't lie," he protested. "I just leave out the bits of truth that aren't particularly convenient."  
  
Hibari said nothing and Dino didn't seem to be bothered, and their walk lapsed back into quiet for a handful of minutes as their steps took them past a playground and a grassy hill which would, no doubt, attract a throng of picnickers in warmer weather. When the arc of leaves and heavy branches curved over them and they shared the walkway with no one else, Dino stepped into Hibari's path and stopped.  
  
The prefect stopped short, jarred and suddenly tense, defensive. Fingers quivered briefly but stopped short of grabbing for his tonfa just yet when Dino didn't initiate an attack. "What?" he demanded.  
  
But Dino didn't speak, didn't even quirk a smile at Hibari's defensive irritation. Instead he lay a hand on Hibari's shoulder --tentative, a brief touch which withdrew and then returned, more firmly-- and leaned close.  
  
The kiss was chaste, didn't linger even long enough to warm Hibari's lips, and Dino pulled away almost before the action had even registered.  
  
It took a moment and in that moment, Hibari blinked thrice, raw surprise revealed on his features, not looking into Dino's face but rather some unknown point below his mouth. But then he hardened, schooled himself into a frown and dark eyes darted to the other boy's face challengingly. "Why did you do that?" he wanted to know, frank as ever even though there was pink gathering at the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears. Maybe just the cold air.  
  
Dino avoided his eyes; Hibari's voice seemed to have snapped him out of a daze and his hand dropped away, feet taking him a step back before he shrugged and smoothed a hand over the front of his sweater, an idle and embarrassed gesture. "I just... felt like it," he explained, no useful explanation at all.  
  
"You're an idiot," Hibari said and shook his hair a little out of his eyes before stepping forward again. He walked past Dino though not as though to escape him, no faster than the stroll that they'd been at before. Then he spoke again, going back to the last subject as though the interruption hadn't occurred at all and not bothering to check if Dino was following him. "I'm not going to tell you my favorite place so easily. Why should I trust you?" It was rhetorical.  
  
Dino turned to follow, a silent, unspoken relief hanging between them as they resumed their walk. He didn't answer Hibari's question, recognizing that there was both no need and no good answer he could have provided. Instead he fell into step with the younger man and turned his gaze to the trees above. Hibird clung to his shoulder, cooing softly. "It really is a nice day," he murmured.  
  
"How much help does Sawada need?" Hibari suddenly wanted to know and he phrased the question with an incredulous tone, as though Dino were teaching him child's work. He already had a tutor, in any case.  
  
Dino blinked, surprised by the question, but sensing the true question behind Hibari's words if not the reason for his interest. "Well..." he began, searching for an adequate answer. "Reborn seems to think our current training shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, but he asked me not to book a return flight yet..." he chuckled quietly. "You know nothing is ever predictable with that guy. I mean, the funny thing is, nothing I'm showing Tsuna would be out of Reborn's abilities to teach... I guess he'd rather pass off the 'boring' parts of the job to someone else. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with my little brother or, of course, the break from all that desk work..."  
  
"The baby has more important things to do than teach than herbivore paperwork," Hibari responded, his voice suddenly dark and quietly passionate.  
  
"Haha, true enough," Dino acknowledged. "Though he's not much of a baby anymore, is he? Almost as tall as me now, hm? I was surprised. He really looks like a true mafioso again. Don't you think?"  
  
"Mm," Hibari replied a little distantly. He wasn't going to discuss with Dino the baby -- who to him, would always be 'the baby' no matter how tall, dark and ruggedly handsome he became. There was a long pause. "You're not much more fit for paperwork than him."  
  
The comment startled Dino, but he laughed it off, choosing to interpret the words in the more likely way in which they were meant. Hibari wouldn't so easily throw out such a complimentary phrase, after all. "Hey hey, I'm actually really good at numbers and reports! Just ask Romario. Honestly, I think Reborn wanted me to show Tsuna the ropes on this particular subject because he just wanted the break to spend some time with lover number 8, whoever they are-- he won't tell anyone, but everyone knows he's got one--" Dino's eyes darted suddenly to Hibari, though he looked away just as quickly, hoping the young prefect hadn't noticed.  
  
"You're so painfully transparent," Hibari interrupted though he didn't bother looking at Dino. If he thought his quickly darting glances were inconspicuous, he was sorely mistaken. "I'm not *interested* in the baby," he said, always forward. It was much easier than having the fool fish like this.  
  
Dino laughed awkwardly and quickened his pace to move a step or two ahead of Hibari. "Ah ha... well, I mean. Not that I would blame you if you were. He's... incredible." He wasn't lying. He glanced quickly down at his watch. "And he'll probably kill me if I'm not back by 11. I'm supposed to help Tsuna memorize all the major current underground players and their immediate subordinates and to be honest, I only remember the names of about half of them myself..." It was a lame attempt to change the subject, but a valiant effort.  
  
"Hm," Hibari acknowledged. He should have taken his leave long ago as it was. But he paused and hesitated, stopping in the path until Dino turned to him questioningly. And then fingers were creeping up the front of his sweater and Hibari was close, eyes turned down as though he were inspecting the knit. "If you toy with me," he said quietly. Deadly. "I'll bite you dead. Do you understand?" His eyes burned like a tiger's when they turned up slowly, smoldering into Dino's gaze. Fingers were so light against his chest, just touching, not grabbing or pulling. But they stayed there for the moment as though with the intent to rip Dino's heart from his ribs were he to give the incorrect answer.  
  
Dino didn't know what he'd been expecting from the prefect, but he was fairly certain it hadn't been this... whatever this was. He didn't laugh, but he didn't scoff at Hibari's threat either, just met the boy's gaze with his own, schooling his surprise into something resembling intent. "I don't make a habit of saying -or doing- things I don't mean," he spoke, as straightforward and matter of fact as he could make it. "Kyouya," he finished, saying the name as though testing for himself whether it sounded any different today.  
  
It was a response that Hibari could almost respect and better than he would have given Dino credit for. For a long moment, he was looking into Dino's eyes -- not searching but determining. Weighing. Considering. He tipped just a little closer, though Dino was still taller than him after a year. "You still haven't earned that name," he warned, no sweeter than moments before. Fingertips dug just the faintest.  
  
Now Dino did smile, just the faintest twitch of his lip as though he was uncomfortable with Hibari staring him down so intently. "Worth a try," he shrugged, his face tilting toward Hibari, expression, for once, strangely unreadable.  
  
Hibari was watching him carefully, noting each quirk of mouth, the way he hesitated, dipped just a breath, hesitated again. He liked it. The way that he hovered, so unsure, so clearly afraid and so clearly longing. A very long moment passed and a single finger shifted, drawing a tiny line on Dino's chest. And as though he'd pulled a puppet's string, he tilted his own chin so slowly to meet the tiny movement it inspired and tempted the other boy mercilessly with lips just a breath away. Challenging him, threatening him, controlling him.  
  
And Dino almost took the bait, licked at his own lips so that the tip of his tongue almost  _almost_  touched Hibari's mouth, but he blinked and drew back, confused and apologetic, staring hard at everything but Hibari's eyes. The prefect was so much younger than him yet radiated such confidence, such maturity... it was distracting. And more than a little dangerous. "I really should go.." he said, stepping back. "Tsuna is expecting me..."  
  
Without a frown or a smile, Hibari eased back, relaxed and took his own step. Unphased. Dino was such an odd animal. But it was of no consequence. So he turned on his heel and started back the way they'd come, lifting his hand in what might have been an imitation of a wave, though he gave a tiny whistle and Hibird flitted from where he'd been napping in the hood of Dino's coat and landed lightly on the tip of Hibari's finger as he walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Even Tsuna noticed Dino's distance over the next couple of days. The young Italian was distracted and overly thoughtful, sometimes having to be prodded in the arm two or three times before he tore his attention back to the task at hand -- generally something dull enough that his mind wandered after only another handful of minutes.  
  
When Tsuna asked, Dino only smiled and shook his head, making the comment that a mafia boss would always have many things on his mind at a time and sometimes it was hard to stay focused on just one at a time. Tsuna nodded as though he understood.  
  
The truth was, however, that the Cavallone boss could not remember having been quite this distracted by a single person since his own school days when he lived in the indimidating and awe-inspiring shadow of a particular silver-haired boy... one with just as much proclivity toward biting as Hibari seemed to exhibit.  
  
Still... he wasn't a school boy anymore. He was an adult. A mafia boss with responsibilities and commitments and standards to uphold. And the dark-eyed boy who occupied too many of his thoughts was just that. A boy. A junior high student, no matter how severe and mature and adult he came across. And that, Dino reminded himself, was a problem. A Very Bad Idea.  
  
For his part, Hibari, in spite of his final blow at their last meeting, still remained Hibari. He didn't bother contacting Dino. There were no fresh texts, the boy's number did not appear on his cel phone. Perhaps he was doing just what he'd warned against, perhaps he had only been teasing Dino. Perhaps it was for the better.  
  
And yet...  
  
On the next morning off that Reborn offered him, Dino found his footsteps carrying him toward Namimori, an hour at least before classes began (Tsuna hadn't even been awake). He glanced at his phone but didn't hit Hibari's number.  
  
What found him was the cold voice of the law as he followed the brick wall that lined the school, not having any real intent on entering, really. He should have known better than to think Hibari wouldn't notice anything that happened within his territory.  
  
"Peeping toms aren't welcome around Namimori," came Hibari's voice as Dino neared a corner.  
  
Dino managed to mask his surprise at Hibari's sudden appearance rather well, dipping his head in a bow of greeting. "Well then, if I see any suspicious figures I will be sure to let them know, Mr. Prefect."  
  
"And what about you?" Hibari prodded, stepping around the corner. There was a light mist still lingering in the crisp morning air but Hibari was alert and immaculate. And just as unreadable as ever.  
  
"Me?" Dino replied, all innocence. "But you already know me. How could I be a suspicious figure?"  
  
"You're the most suspicious," Hibari replied, point of his tonfa suddenly lightly at Dino's throat. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"The school is between Tsuna's house and my hotel," he pointed out, a true fact but a flimsy excuse. The touch of cool metal against this skin seemed not to phase him at all.  
  
"You're walking in the direction of your hotel," Hibari observed, lifted a single brow. "Did you spend the night in young Sawada's home?"  
  
A pause. Damn. "You're very clever, Kyouya," Dino said cheerfully. "But I could have simply left my little brother's house this morning after an early lesson."  
  
"Hm," Hibari replied but he lowered his weapon and tilted his chin slightly, taking a step back. He gave a very strange, slightly sour tiny smile. "Then proceed."  
  
Dino nodded graciously and, without hesitation, walked past Hibari and onto the school's grounds.  
  
Hibari was so startled by this action that he almost hesitated but then he quickly sauntered behind Dino to hit him on the back with his tonfa -- not lightly, but downright delicately by Hibari's standards. "What are you doing?" he demanded, irritated. It was early for delinquency -- especially when it wasn't even his students.  
  
Dino turned slightly, but failed to slow his steps. "I came to seek council with Namimori High's disciplinary committee. You granted me permission to proceed." The faintest smile. "Would you mind terribly directing me to the primary conference room? I'm afraid I've forgotten what the best way to find it is."  
  
The student's face hardened then. "You're not welcome there," he said shortly, hurrying just a little to keep up with Dino's long strides. "What business do you have?" he pressed. He was just trying to make a scene.  
  
A small tsking sound, a quick suck of air between Dino's teeth was his answer. "I'd rather not say out here..." he began. "Prying ears and all that. School children are such gossips." Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dino knew this was a silly thing to do. He knew he was digging himself in deeper with every step and every irritation he posed to the young prefect. Still... he found it difficult to help himself, couldn't help but enjoy the thrill of risking bodily harm to see that pouting annoyance on Hibari's face. He felt utterly reckless. And he liked it.  
  
"Melodramatic," Hibari complained. "If this isn't important, I'm going to bite you to death and leave you in Sawada's classroom as an example."  
  
It was all the permission Dino needed and despite his claim that he'd forgotten how to find the room that was Hibari's primary base of operations, his steps were already caring them there without hesitation. "I'm terribly grateful," he assured the boy, the words seeming sarcastic but his tone oddly sincere. A talent the Italian possessed.  
  
"Che," Hibari replied under his breath as they walked through the silent halls of the school to the reception room. He knew better than to be charmed by Dino's silvery voice. At heart, he was no different than any of the brats that roamed these halls. Which was saying something, since he was over twenty. He ushered the older boy into his lounge and shut the door behind them, meeting Dino's gaze with expectant irritation.  
  
"Good morning," Dino said cheerfully, leaning back casually against the door.  
  
Hibari's patience was starting to fade and the middle of his lips was tight, lightly pursed. "If you wanted me to beat you into oblivion, we could have done it outside the school," he quipped.  
  
Dino hardly waited for the prefect to finish his threat before he was stepping near, reaching around the boy to close a hand on the tonfa held ready behind his back. He was very close now, barely a half inch hovering between them, Dino's breath stirring Hibari's hair. "No," he said, all traces of teasing absent from his voice. "We couldn't have."  
  
Startled, Hibari jerked his hand only for Dino to hold fast. His chin tilted up, head tossing just slightly as though to shake off the warm breath in his hair. "You..." he murmured, a pensive flavor of spite peppering his voice and he started to take a step back.  
  
Dino didn't let him. Hibari's own weapons now worked against him, trapping him between unbending metal and the Italian's unyielding body. "I...?" he asked, quirking a brow, valiantly and silently beating back the mental warnings that shouted at him to be reasonable, to leave before he did something he might regret. But it was hard to think about regret with Kyouya's eyes on him, dark with rage and --he could tell himself-- maybe something subtler. There was little he could do to fight against it, knowing then that, in truth, it was Hibari that had -him- trapped, caught tight and unable --or perhaps unwilling-- to struggle. So he didn't.  
  
Hibari had been ready to follow up the pronoun, perhaps with "insufferable" or "impossible." But instead when he opened his lips to speak, they were silenced with Dino's. For a moment he pulled -- not exactly a struggle but rather a hesitation, though his eyes never betrayed him with their hard gaze into Dino's own. It was far more of a kiss than the Italian's impulsive peck earlier in the week, lingering but light and for a moment, everything was tight and tense. Hibari was stiff in the circle of his arm, as though expecting a blow to follow but then slowly and ever so slightly, he relaxed, grudgingly accepted. And kissed back just the tiniest bit.  
  
Had he struggled or pushed Dino away, hit him or made any sign of true displeasure, the young Italian would have stopped instantly, come to his senses and left. But with that first small allowance, that slight return of gesture, Dino felt his breath catch and his pulse trip and there wasn't any going back from there. His hand tightened on the tonfa, catching Hibari close, one hand now gripping the boy's shoulder and he deepened the kiss, parting their lips firmly, a pleased shudder rippling down his spine.  
  
The moment that Dino's touch firmed, that he pressed in and held him tighter and he could taste the other boy -- something surged in Hibari's blood and he felt as though a challenge had been issued. It was his choice to answer it with violence or reciprocation but either way, his body suddenly demanded assertion. So his free hand snapped, fisting in the front of Dino's shirt though the other was reluctant to leave the grip of his tonfa, even if it was held behind his back. As it was, he dragged Dino in closer and gave a quiet, growling murmur between his lips as he tipped and tilted into a kiss that he only made rougher with his contribution.  
  
Dino bent into the demand, hair falling over his eyes as he met and matched Hibari's action. The tonfa he refused to yield, some instinct telling him that as long as he retained hold of the weapon, Kyouya would stay put. He hardly minded the rough treatment of his shirt, thrilling at the small concession, the first tiny loss of control. He wanted to say something, his instinct for speech seeking witty reparte, but his body was stubborn and his mouth found more pleasure in biting carelessly at Hibari's lip than forming useless words.  
  
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Hibari jerked back and broke the kiss with a quiet gasp as though shocked by the action. He blinked once into Dino's surprised face, ran his tongue over the place he'd just been lightly bitten. Then he was surging forward again and the tonfa was left in Dino's hand as both of Hibari's grabbed for his collar and yanked. Hibari's mouth was not that of a junior high student -- his mouth was savage and hungry after years of threats of biting with no literal follow-through. Holding tight to Dino's clothes, he kissed hard, sucked the other boy's lower lip between scraping teeth.  
  
Dino stumbled back, bumping against the wall beside the door, Hibari's weight and sudden savagery pinning him there. The tonfa, so precious a moment before, tumbled from lax fingers and left both hands free to grip at the younger boy's shoulders, pulling him flush against his torso, an awkward angle to continue the hungry war of mouths, but Dino hardly cared-- not even as his chapped lip split between Hibari's teeth, spilling the taste of copper onto his tongue. Quick to notice that new flavor, Hibari's tongue was surprisingly light as it lapped the tiny split, lathing the metallic flavor. Then sweeping warm and soft across his lip, a dangerous gentle touch like the calm before the storm. His eyes were smoldering, hooded but alert.  
  
The groan that Hibari's touch inspired was impossible to swallow completely and Dino's hands squeezed tighter, reflexively on the prefect's arms. He kissed the flavor of his own blood back from Hibari's mouth, a moment later spinning them both away from the wall where the back of his knees caught the edge of the room's low couch, sent him sprawling and Dino followed, hovering close, one hand propped beside Hibari's head, a knee bent between the prefect's thighs and Dino knew he presumed too much and it was terrifying and thrilling to find that he didn't much care at all about propriety in that moment.  
  
Hibari frowned up at the face hovering over him, his cheeks only the slightest bit flushed though he was more disheveled than Dino had ever seen him outside the heat of battle. "Inappropriate," he murmured darkly but fingers were creeping, up his chest and over clavicle. Fingernails tickled his throat and followed his jaw until Hibari's hand was in his hair, threading tight, threateningly. He pulled, arching his neck just a little until he could feel Dino's warm breath on his lips.  
  
"Dangerous," Dino agreed and kissed him again.  
  
He didn't hear the voices or the brief scuffle outside and more than likely Hibari was adept at ignoring whatever didn't interest him. Still it was rather difficult to ignore the door slamming open behind them, the sudden entry preluded with a shout. "Hibari-san! Are you alright?!" Kusakabe's appearance was followed by a harried looking Romario.  
  
"I tried to stop him, Dino-san," the mustached man apologized, politely averting his eyes while Hibari's right hand man stared openly, dumbstruck.  
  
A foot made it sharply to Dino's stomach, kicking him back hard when he failed to immediately extricate himself from Hibari's person. Hibari didn't blink when the blond tumbled to the floor but instead sat up and straightened his vest.  
  
"Hibari-san..." Kusakabe managed.  
  
"Yes, Tetsu?" Hibari's face was dark and stony and in a brief moment, he went from ravished to murderous, perfectly in control.  
  
"Why... why didn't you tell me?" Hibari sighed inwardly at the wounded expression on his subordinate's face. This was going to be an unpleasant conversation.  
  
In the meantime Romario had pulled Dino mostly to his feet and was already in the process of dragging his boss from the room. He paused briefly in afterthought and leaned back through the doorway to catch Hibari's eye. "I'll have him call you."  
  
  
~~~~~  
  
  
Dino spent the rest of the morning at the makeshift desk in his hotel, feeding paperwork to the fax machine and being torn between the love and hate of right hand men. His stomach was already bruising nastily where Hibari had kicked him and he kept absently tonguing his split lip. He knew he should be grateful for the sudden interruption that had snapped him back to his senses --be logical, Dino, he's 15 years old. 16 at the most-- but his libido couldn't help but be extremely sore with the whole situation.  
  
Three hours later (two of which had been spent in an extremely long, drawn out conversation the likes of which Hibari would never even consider sparing for anyone but his right hand and who had an understanding which kept this information quite safely out of public knowledge) Hibari sank into his desk in the reception lounge and eyed the scuffs on his shoes, caused by kicking over a rolling bin full of basketballs during a disciplinary session in the gym. Even if you are on the basketball team, this does not justify skipping class for practice.  
  
After a long moment, he produced his phone and sent a message.  
  
 _Never again at school._  
  
Dino read the message. Read it again. Read -into- it and then sat back and took it just for what it was. A good, sound suggestion.  
  
 _Agreed_ , he finally answered, a handful of minutes later.  
  
Then,  _Are you ok?_  
  
 _Why wouldn't I be?_  
  
 _Haha ok. Your friend seemed upset._  
  
 _We came to an understanding._  
  
 _Did you miss class?_  
  
 _No._  
  
 _Oh. That's good._  Dino sighed, leaning back farther in his chair, rubbing at his brow.  _was going to call but didn't want to interrupt your classes._  Classes, Dino reminded himself. As in, attending, not teaching. As in 15 years old. As in--  
  
A steaming mug that smelled strongly of peppermint was set before him and Dino looked up at Romario. "That doesn't -smell- like alcohol," he protested.  
  
"It's not," the man said. "It's tea."  
  
Dino sighed and reached for the mug. "Thank you."  
  
Ten minutes later,  _I detest this form of communication._  
  
Dino still sipped at the tea, a comfort-- though not quite as nice as a little kahlua with milk would have been.  
  
 _will you answer if i call you instead?_  
  
 _No._  
  
The young Italian couldn't help laughing despite himself. Kyouya was also so serious. So predictable with his likes and dislikes... well. Maybe not -so- predictable.  
  
 _after school?_  
  
 _If you're going to subject me to this, at least use complete sentences._  
  
Dino hadn't yet learned the fine art of speed texting like every school girl (and most boys) in Japan seemed automatically to possess, so his response was somewhat slow in coming.  
  
 _What I meant to say is, will you pick up the phone if I wait until school is out for the day to call you?_  His finger was cramping by the time he hit send.  
  
 _No._  
  
No further text messages were forthcoming while Dino nursed his cooling cup and stared contemplatively at his phone. He typed his next reply and held his thumb over the send key for a long time before knocking back the last of his tea as though it were a shot of something harder. He met Romario's glance across the room, but even his right hand man couldn't tell him what to do this time.  
  
Dino sighed, closed his eyes and sent the message.  
  
 _Shall we get together again then? Avoid the use of phones altogether that way..._  
  
 _I'm busy after school._  
  
 _Ah, too bad. Well, if you feel like sparring another time give me a call. I noticed your tonfa skills are getting a little rusty._  The finger cramp was worth it.  
  
 _And I noticed you're better at paperwork than whip wielding. Saturday._  
  
Dino grinned and sent his reply.


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday rolled around and Hibari had demanded Dino's presence when the air was still crisp -- he seemed the early to bed, early to rise type. He had received detailed directions through the Namimori park, off the beaten path where they would be uninterrupted. He'd apparently been serious with, "Never again at the school."  
  
When he arrived, Hibari was lounging at the base of a tree with eyes peacefully shut, dozing or meditating.  
  
The temptation to surprise him with a crack of the whip was there but was brief and instead Dino held up a hand, called a greeting while still a safe distance away. "Good morning!" The chill air bit at his cheeks, staining them pink and he fingered the leather wrapping of his whip, ready for whatever Hibari had planned.  
  
Hibari's eyes slit open, sharp with that deceptive and dangerous brand of alertness that he had. A master of his own body, when he rose it was perfectly graceful and he lifted his chin to meet Dino's gaze as he strolled forward. "You're timely," he commented, the highest of compliments when falling from the stoic boy's lips.  
  
Dino couldn't help the grin that tugged at his chapped lips. The young prefect seemed to be in good spirits and that, in turn, raised his own immensely. "Didn't want to keep you waiting," he explained. "It's been a long time," he added, meant, of course, since they'd last sparred.  
  
"It has," Hibari agreed. There was something starting to smolder in his eyes -- there was even a smile starting to curve in the corners of his lips. Fingers found the grips of tonfa but he did not yet stand ready, neither offensive nor defensive. "I've bitten many since."  
  
"I'll try not to be too jealous," Dino teased, tugging the coiled weapon free from his belt, flicking it loose with a gentle snap of the wrist. "I'm sure you beat them all too easily for it to be much fun, anyway."  
  
"True enough," Hibari responded, hands tightening on his own weapons. "Prove yourself interesting," he challenged and charged, aiming a blow for Dino's shoulder.  
  
The young Italian stepped aside easily, as he was sure Hibari had expected, raised his hand, circled, eyes sharp but laughing. "As enthusiastic as ever, Kyouya," he nodded, casting his whip to deflect the second blow. "Faster too," he noted, clearly pleased.  
  
"And you as confident," Hibari responded, never as easily impressed but the crack of Dino's whip made the base of his spine tingle. He may have bitten many -- but not recently and none ever quite the same as Dino. He would never let the older boy know that he was anything special, however. "Does the whip come in handy for sending faxes and paying bills?" Hibari wondered as though he were striking up a conversation even as he caught a strike from Dino with a raised tonfa.  
  
Dino laughed and pulled away, spinning deftly and laying a strike that snagged Hibari's slacks just below the knee, only hard enough to sting, leaving the garment still intact. "Romario made me stop trying after the third broken telephone." When Hibari aimed a blow for his face, he had no time to deflect, instead opting to catch the weapon with a length of his whip, holding his own weapon in both hands and twisting it around the tonfa with a speed that was hard to follow. "And you?" he asked. "Do those things make good backscratchers?"  
  
With the other tonfa raised and ready, Hibari showed its claws, a sharp 'shnk' as spiked blades were exposed. "Let's find out," he said with a dark smile. Dino ducked the swipe fast enough that he only lost a few tips of hair.  
  
Luckily, the weapon born of Leon's efforts was not ordinary leather and wouldn't be injured by the slice of the tonfa's claws. Still, the same couldn't be said of Dino himself and so he dodged deftly, avoiding their bite and snapping the tail of his whip toward Hibari in an effort to catch his weapon. Hibari was fast, though, better than he remembered and the whip snapped uselessly --if with some bite of its own-- against Hibari's arm, then shoulder, and even his jaw. That blow drew a bright hot line of red across the boy's skin but yet again missed its true mark, thwarting Dino's attempts to disarm his opponent.  
  
Hibari barely flinched with each lash that bit his skin, burning smartly each time but also deflected a snap for each one that reached him. When the whip cracked high, he snagged it again with his tonfa, a flick of his own wrist wrapping the end around while he himself dropped into a low dive to take out Dino's ankles with his free weapon, though the claws had been withdrawn, only bruising nastily his acheles rather than slicing through them.  
  
Dino took the fall with surprising grace, flinching silently at the crack that reverberated up his leg. Then he rolled, snapping his arm out with enough sudden force to rip the tangled tonfa from Hibari's hand, tossing it out of reach before he straightened again, the whip catching Hibari on the arm as he too regained his feet. His own face was smudged with earth and his hair was unsalvagable but he was smiling with an excitement that Hibari hadn't seen for a long time. "You've gotten better," he breathed, feeling generous.  
  
This fight was different, Hibari noted, breathing only a little harder. Something was different. The air was crisp and cold but it felt hot and sweltering and heavy. He was tense -- Hibari was never tense. Certainly not due to some spar with this pest. But the lashes stung hot and seemed to seep into his blood, making it heat and roil under his skin. "You may actually be more aggravating," Hibari replied as they squared and then he dove for his displaced weapon.  
  
"Glad to know I haven't--" He struck with his whip, faster than Hibari could move, and caught the tonfa, slinging it over Hibari's head and letting it drop into his own hand. "--lost my touch," he teased, twirling the purloined weapon in his free hand even as his feet danced between attack postures. "Want it back?" he taunted, eyes glinting.  
  
Hibari glared, wiping dirt from his cheek with the back of his hand as he regained his composure. "One is enough," he replied and leaves were kicked up as he rushed Dino head on, eyes narrowed when the blond blocked using Hibari's weapon. He pressed in hard though, metal shrieking briefly as it scraped and Dino held his ground even as he could feel Hibari's heat invading his space. A free hand was suddenly on his stomach, flat and not exactly threatening, fingers flexing against tight, tense muscles. Hibari's eyes were drilling into him, burning and hungry and predatory. He gained just an inch -- the weapon that Dino was using to hold him back came to touch the Italian's chest and a pinky finger flicked and claws slashed from the stolen tonfa, shredding thin t-shirt fabric and slicing through skin.  
  
Dino flinched, grunted, falling back to dodge away, dropping the clawed weapon to the dirt and snapping the whip between them to give a moment's recovery. Hibari was right. Clearly he'd been spending too much time at his desk if he'd let the boy draw blood so easily. They were circling, already on guard again as Dino weighed his options, smiled and struck. The snap that grazed Hibari's wrist was a feint, and though it left a nasty welt, didn't take hold. It was easy enough to aim for the second weapon, knowing Hibari would assume he was trying once more to disarm him. The feint worked because Dino's efforts were genuine. But despite his wholehearted attempts, Dino knew he wouldn't get past Hibari's defense a second time. His eyes stayed alert, looking for his chance between blows that the prefect easily deflected. And then, there it was, the tiniest opening as Hibari's arm went low to block a strike that aimed for his ankles. In the blink of an eye, the whip's trajectory changed, it struck and snaked around Hibari's neck, once, twice, three times before he registered the hit. By then the weapon was pulled taut and there was barely a meter between them.  
  
Hibari's hand grabbed for the coils that wrapped tight around his throat, choking silently as the whip was yanked tight. Still he held his weapon ready, chin held high, refusing surrender. Silent. Squaring even through strangulation.  
  
Dino raised a brow, though he wasn't certain why he was at all surprised. Of course Hibari wouldn't give in so easily. That was what was so attractive about him, wasn't it? Dino blinked, and in that moment of distraction, Hibari leapt, the whip still tight around his throat.  
  
Faster than Dino could counter attack, claws again were bared and swiped, stopping just short of Dino's jugular. The moment he came to rest, he felt the slack again tighten, the coils threatening his adam's apple with a squeeze. Panting softly as they pressed against one another in stalemate, dirty and sweaty, Hibari smiled faintly.  
  
Dino held steady for a good half a minute, watching Hibari's lips turn blue and doing his best to swallow shallowly against the deadly spines against his throat. Then, finally, without loosening his grip, he asked, "Draw?"  
  
Hibari hesitated a moment, considering but then finally his eyes closed in quiet assent. The coils slackened and Hibari drew in a deep breath from his pale lips as he let his tonfa slide away. Then lungs full, he surged again though his weapon dropped away and was instead replaced with bare hands that reached for fists of golden hair and dragged Dino's mouth savagely to his own.  
  
Dino hadn't been expecting it, but he was ready for it, nonetheless, meeting Hibari's vicious lips with equal fervor, pulling him closer, fingers bruising where they gripped his sides, slid to the small of his back, his whip already forgotten in its limp coil beside Hibari's tonfa. He wasn't gentle; neither of them were-- their blood still far too heated from the fight, from the knowledge that neither could best the other on the battlefield and the realization that it didn't mean either would stop trying.  
  
Arms curled around Dino's neck and the back of his head, no protest from the younger boy as all space between them vanished. Already heated from the exercise, Dino's body against him, arms around him was almost sweltering but he found he didn't care, that he almost basked in it. Knowing that he'd heated that blood -- the blood that filled darkening bruises and stained his shirt. He found himself, without considering it, arching up on the pads of his feet to reach better as his tongue pushed rough and demanding into Dino's mouth between their panting breaths.  
  
The young Italian had already forgotten the cuts that marred his chest, ignored the mild discomfort of Hibari's weight pressing against his injured torso, too lost in the adrenaline of the moment, of the boy's insistence and his hunger, an enthusiasm that was both instantly contagious and, Dino predicted, ultimately addictive. "Fuck," he groaned, nudging Hibari's head back to reach for his bruised throat with teeth and tongue.  
  
At first, Hibari resisted, all instinct forbidding him from willingly exposing his throat like that, leaving himself completely vulnerable. But then Dino was ducking, kissing, sucking there at injured and tender flesh and his breath hitched just the slightest. Nails dug into Dino's shoulders as he gave himself to the closest thing he had ever shown or experienced to surrender, head tilting to the side to allow Dino to do his worst. In the midst of heat and sweat and rushing blood, a shiver traveled up his spine.  
  
The blond himself seemed entirely unconscious of this allowance, unaware that he'd asked for anything particularly odd and only hummed quietly, a low rumbling in his throat when he felt Hibari relax enough to lift his chin. With his mouth at the boy's throat, tongue grazing firmly, apologetically over the marks he'd left, Dino took the opportunity to push Hibari's jacket from his shoulders, fingers tracing the curve of his back, unknowingly chasing another shiver.  
  
The slow panting of hot breath didn't subside even if the battle had shifted and action had slowed. Hibari's face was starting to flush as he let his cheek drop against Dino's shoulder, still leaving his throat exposed. "This isn't why I agreed to meet with you," he breathed, his voice stubborn even though his hands were sliding under Dino's shirt. The Italian boy's skin was clammy under his flat palms that slid behind for nails to scrape up his back. His stomach fluttered under the attention to his neck and throat.  
  
Dino laughed quietly as he reached to untuck Hibari's usually impeccable white shirt, broad hands rubbing firmly, thumb pressing into the dip of his hip as tongue licked away sweat and the faint taste of blood from a shallow cut on his jaw. "This isn't why I asked you to meet me," he countered, then seemed to think his words a bit harsh and amended, "But I won't complain."  
  
"Hn," came Hibari's response, followed by a sharp bite beneath Dino's ear that promised to bruise with angry teeth marks. 'Damn right you won't,' he seemed to say in fewer words. His own tongue soothed the welt briefly but then he was seeking Dino's mouth again, his own seeming insatiable for the rough clash. Meanwhile he guided Dino's hands to his tie before his own spread over the other boy's chest, pressing and digging faintly, demanding. He didn't care if it was a public place, didn't care if Romario was somewhere silently watching. Sucking hard at Dino's tongue, he growled into the other's mouth.  
  
There was no hesitation as Dino tugged at the tie, undoing the knot until it hung loose around Hibari's neck and left accessible the tiny white buttons of his shirt. Without breaking their kiss, Dino began to work each button free, strangely considerate seeing as how the shirt itself was already stained with the Italian's blood. His shoulders curled as he leaned down to reach Hibari's open collar, sucking hard at the sharp jut of bone, teeth scraping as he followed the spreading flush down the boy's chest. Hand slid behind him, under the now-open shirt, supporting his smaller body while Dino tasted his skin, skin he'd only had a brief chance to admire before the sudden interruption of Kyouya's subordinate earlier that week.  
  
Hibari's breath was slowing, growing deeper as though he were pacing itself to keep hold of his own control. His hands were fisted in the front of the other's shirt, trembles continuing to find their way to his spine, cheek pressed into the messy, dirty gold of Dino's hair. How he did this, Hibari himself couldn't decipher -- how Dino managed to undo all of his control with irritation and seduction and he just found himself grasping and wanting and not caring. Craving more and more, ready to throw the other boy to the dirty ground and have at it like uncivilized animals. "I loathe you," Hibari breathed with a quiet groan.  
  
Dino wanted to laugh but his mouth was full of Kyouya's breath and then the stiff bud of flesh he'd found before and now had the chance to rediscover. "Mm," was all he said, with very Hibari-like brevity before he was dragging the boy's hips close, slipping a knee between his thighs and pressing, sliding obscenely, skin heating under the rub of fabric.  
  
Somewhere nearby a phone chirped but neither Dino nor Hibari paid any attention to the sound or the man they both knew it belonged to.  
  
It was awkward and rough, fueled by the lingering rush of battle and time passed and Hibari resented him even as he clawed at Dino's shoulders and pressed in tighter. He hated him for the state he was in -- sweaty and hot and dirty, with arousal starting to warm his stomach. He hated the salty taste when he nipped at Dino's throat between softly panted breaths. He hated that he wanted to tear through fabric and leave angry bruises with his teeth over every inch of skin.  
  
Dino allowed him no time to let those annoyances change his mind, however. The young mafia boss had already mostly divested Hibari of his shirt, his tongue seeking each revealed whip mark with a hunger that might have surprised the prefect if he hadn't been so intent on abusing Dino's neck himself. "Come here," the Italian demanded, dragging Hibari forward as he took a step backward towards a denser cluster of trees.  
  
He only made it as far as two more steps before a heel found the discarded coil of his whip which promptly twisted around both ankles in a highly implausible manner and Dino shrieked as he went down. Hard. It was somehow hardly surprising that as he fell, his head managed to find and connect with both forgotten tonfa, landing a self-inflicted blow that hit harder than Hibari himself had been able to during their entire history of sparring.  
  
As Hibari stood over the unconscious Italian, his open shirt sliding off his sweaty shoulders, he had to wonder if all things didn't happen for a reason. He sighed faintly, closed his eyes briefly and did the only thing he could think to do in that moment. He buttoned up his shirt, straightened his tie, gathered his jacket and tonfa and left.  
  
He heard the pacing crunch of leaves as he made his way back to the path -- Dino's right hand had strayed a bit. " _I know, Maman, I'm sorry -- it's just a bad time right now --_ "  
  
Hibari caught the man's eye when he glanced over and gave a nod back at the fallen mafioso. Romario got paid to take care of that mess. He didn't.  
  
The man in question answered with a deep frown and an audible sigh, though whether directed at his downed boss or the woman on the other end of the line wasn't clear. " _Yes-- no, I know. Yes, Maman. No! I'm not trying to get rid of you-- no. Look, I'm kind of at work..._ "  
  
The prefect could hear the fury-filled Italian bursting through Romario's cell phone receiver as he left the scene. Though the shouting was shrill, at that moment, he could relate to the rage that faded in volume as he walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

For the few days following, Hibari's phone failed to ring, and no chime of text messages disturbed his school hours.  
  
On his off time, Dino had taken to driving with Romario, an activity he'd always enjoyed but hadn't partaken of for a while. Wednesday morning found them far from the city, traversing roads just a step up from dirt, with the windows down and the radio on. Dino was smiling, humming along, but mostly he seemed to be searching for distraction, pointing out every animal or oddly shaped tree and punching Romario in the arm anytime he spotted a yellow sports car.  
  
Romario also noticed that Dino's punches were particularly hard today and he was fairly certain he was going to have some smart bruises by the time they returned home. Normally their drives were filled with comfortable, friendly silence and sometimes idle chatter -- particularly a relief to fill the air with their native language from time to time while being submerged in Japanese language and culture. But today was different. When Dino was silent it was heavy and when he was laughing it was loud and boistrous.  
  
When the laughing faded again into the deep quiet, Romario felt he needed to do something. So he cleared his throat and made an attempt at conversation. "The lessons with Don Vongola appear to be going well."  
  
"Mm," Dino agreed, smiling thoughtfully. "Tsuna's a good kid. He'll be a good boss too. Might end up having some competition for my title of Number One Most Charitable Mafioso, actually." He laughed again, but it was quieter this time. "How's your mother?" he asked suddenly, a poorly disguised attempt at turning the conversation away from the goings on in Dino's life.  
  
"Oh... well, you know..." Romario coughed. There had been profuse apologies for the incident a few days prior but Dino had just laughed and waved him off -- how was Romario to know he'd fall within the few minutes that he stepped away? Besides, it wasn't as though he would have been able to catch Dino. "She seems to be well... She just complains a lot about me working overseas. And she's badgering me about Florence..."  
  
Dino chuckled at this. "You'd better watch out. Your mother's gonna start spending time with this girl and then it'll be baby pictures and shopping trips and when you get back to Italy, your house will be redecorated and your girlfriend will know you wet the bed until you were twelve."  
  
Romario grimaced with this dark foretelling. "It already happened. The last time we were here," he confessed.  
  
Dino blinked, stifled a laugh with poor results and clapped his right hand man on the shoulder. "Oh, Romario. Forgive me!" A pause as Dino glanced over his friend with a mix of concern and apologetic humor. "Still, it's good that they get along, right?"  
  
"Of course," Romario replied somewhat sheepishly. "Although perhaps better for them than for me." There was a pause, a hesitation, a brief silence. "You haven't been on your phone much lately," Romario commented, doing his best to sound offhand.  
  
Dino's smile faded as the words left his friend's mouth, he gripped a little harder at the steering wheel, but only for a moment and then he was himself again, cheerful, carefree and just a little dense. "Well, to tell the truth, I'm a little over my alloted minutes for the month... and you know how accountants get when you start spending more money than you told them you'd spend. Haha."  
  
"Boss..." Romario hesitated again, turning his own eyes back to the open road before them. "You know..." It may have been overstepping boundaries and maybe he should just mind his own business. But when the health and happiness of the Cavallone don was involved, wasn't it his job to do anything in his power to help? "You know if there's anybody you can talk to, it's me..."  
  
There was a long silence then, stretching from uncomfortable to awkward and Dino finally sighed, shoulders sagging as he pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, reached to turn the key and sat back in his seat, still not meeting Romario's concerned gaze. "It's wrong, isn't it? I'm in over my head, Romario."  
  
"Wrong, boss?" Romario questioned, frowning softly as he watched Dino carefully. "That's a strong word. Aren't you being a little hard on yourself?"  
  
"He's barely in high school...The difference of experience -alone- is... What would people say? What would my -mother- say?"  
  
"Your mother might be too distracted by the fact that he's a he to notice," Romario tried to joke. It fell flat and he floundered. "That is-- well." Oh but it was an awkward conversation. "What I mean to say is that while your friend is young -- well -- I've seen him train as much as you have yourself, Boss. And if it weren't for his appearance, I would never believe that boy is as young as he is. I'd venture to say that he's more mature than a good number of your subordinates."  
  
At this, Dino couldn't help but laugh a little. "I-- I suppose that's true." He lifted his face to Romario then, a tiny spark of humor in his eye. "But really, you don't need to be so self-depricating just to cheer me up, Romario."  
  
Romario laughed sheepishly at this. "I will admit sometimes that hard-edged kid makes me feel young," he said with a chuckle. "But I think he's changed just a little since we were last here, don't you? Otherwise I'm sure he'd have tried to murder you by now." He smiled. "Obviously there's something about you... but, listen, Boss... you know, as far as 'what will people think'... You know your family wants whatever will make you happy. No matter what, we'll be behind you 100%."  
  
"I knew I made the right choice in making you my right hand man," Dino squeezed his friend's shoulder, then let go and idly smoothed the wrinkles from his sleeve. He wasn't entirely at ease with the situation, but there was little need to further worry Romario and in truth, the long drive itself had already helped calm his nerves. "I suppose I should be grateful that I don't have to worry about Kyouya redecorating my house in floral prints."  
  
"That's true," Romario agreed, paused. "Although you might come home to find the marble replaced with tatami and the yard statues with those bamboo fountains." Romario's nose winkled a little with distaste.  
  
Dino sniffed in faux-annoyance. "I happen to like bamboo fountains, thank you very much." Then, as though to punctuate his announcement, he started up the car once again and pulled out onto the road. "Besides," he continued, "he'd have to fight my mother first, and to be honest, I'm not sure who would win."  
  
"I've met your mother, sir," Romario said politely. "And I think she would win."  
  
Dino grinned. "More than once I've wondered why she wasn't made the 9th Cavallone instead of my uncle."  
  
The laughter they shared served to further uplift his spirits and by the time Dino had turned the car back toward Namimori, he was feeling like he could take on almost anything.  
  
"Romario," he asked, "What's our schedule like for the rest of the week?"  
  
Dino's right hand man fired up his PDA, clicking through. "You have evening tutoring through the rest of the week and a meeting with Gianini on Friday afternoon... but Saturday is completely free. Sunday you have a tutoring session in the afternoon."  
  
Dino nodded, considering this briefly before pulling out his phone. He cast a grin Romario's way and flipped the phone open. "Pardon me, I've got a call to make."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
When Saturday rolled around, the day found Dino in good spirits. It'd been relatively easy to invite Hibari for a quiet dinner, especially when he mentioned the name of a high class, expensive tea house that --with a little help from Fuuta-- he'd learned was among Hibari's favorite places to eat out. It would only make a small dent in his daily budget, Dino justified, and was clearly worth later dealing with the panic of his accountants.  
  
Hibari had been, needless to say, rather surprised at the invitation. The Tenba Chashitsu was not an entirely traditional tea house but it was excellent, regardless. The younger boy didn't think that Dino would have the sense, taste or patience for such an outing. But when he arrived and was led to a small, private room, he was further surprised to find Dino in an attractive but simple haori and hakama. Moving his eyes from his waiting companion, he lowered his head appreciatively to their host and sank to the opposite side of the table. The door slid shut and they were quietly and peacefully alone for the moment.  
  
"This is unusual," Hibari remarked. Certainly not impressed.  
  
Dino grinned broadly, checked himself and leaned forward with a calmer smile. "The owners were quite accommodating," he explained, more or less ignoring Hibari's jaded observation. "They were even able to make a few recommendations for dinner. I warned them that my company was a man of..." here his eyes gleamed with something akin to mischief,"...refined tastes so, with any luck, you'll enjoy it."  
  
"Hmm," Hibari responded, watching Dino with his subtly skeptical way. They hadn't seen each other since the previous Saturday's incident and had only spoken briefly on the phone. "Romario?" he questioned.  
  
Dino blinked and paused in his pouring of the tea. "Romario?" he echoed, clearly not grasping the implication in Hibari's question.  
  
Hibari's eyes narrowed. He felt something in the pit of his stomach and he wondered if it was what dread felt like. "We're alone?" But as he watched, the tea went unspilled. The pot was unbroken. Nothing even caught fire.  
  
"Oh, he's a couple rooms over with two or three of the others, happily drinking the sake I bought them." Dino laughed pleasantly and passed Hibari a steaming cup. "He's terribly loyal and I know he cares for me deeply, but it is nice to escape the watchful eye of my Famiglia once in a while." He lifted his own cup to his lips, took a sip, set it back down. "Don't you think?"  
  
Hibari watched him silently as his fingers curled around the cup placed in front of him. Dino's form was surprisingly good, his hands steady and determined as he poured. Dignified as he raised his cup. He'd practiced this. The words registered a moment later and he closed his eyes briefly in agreement. As long as the proximity was enough to keep the situation in check, secretly he was quite thankful for the privacy. "Reservations are difficult here," Hibari commented and sampled the tea. Exquisite.  
  
Dino maintained perfect composure, but his eyes carried the grin that his mouth hid behind a sip of tea. "Being a mafia Don isn't all fax machines and paper work, you know. There are certain perks as well," he pointed out. A pause. "You've been here before then?" Feigning ignorance.  
  
Dino was an idiot but Hibari played along. "I have, once or twice," he responded easily. Still unimpressed, mafia don or no.  
  
"Ah, it's too bad then that I ordered ahead of time. I could have taken your recommendations." The tea cup fit snug and warm in Dino's cupped hands, and the steam coaxed pink into his cheeks. "If there's anything else you want after they bring the meal, please don't hesitate to ask for it."  
  
"Hmm," Hibari replied, lowering his eyes gracefully as his own long fingers curled around his cup. "Generous," he remarked and there was a strange, mysterious half-smile that faded into his lips.  
  
The first part of their meal came promptly, a citrus tofu dish recommended by the owner -- in fact, Dino had asked for a combination of the owner's suggestions coupled with what they remembered serving the stoic Japanese boy during his previous visits. Still he played innocent, never revealing the extent of his planning. After all, it was about creating an atmosphere and and evening that Kyouya would appreciate, not about showing off. Well... maybe a little. Just a little.  
  
Dino paused during the main course, chopsticks poised halfway to his mouth to sneak a glance at his dinner companion, curious to observe his reaction thus far.  
  
Hibari was strangely peaceful. He was as quiet as he normally was but there was something about him just a little bit different -- the way his eyes were turned on his meal and that normally harsh gaze showed not the slightest bit of criticism. The way he closed those eyes just briefly with his first neat bite.  
  
It was, in a word, hypnotic. Dino couldn't help but stare, his own bite forgotten as Hibari weilded his chopsticks with the same grace as his tonfa, and, Dino realized, the same gentle, yet serious consideration. He wondered if it was the same way he approached everything he cared about.  
  
After a second bite and a moments stillness, Hibari's eyes turned back up to Dino and caught his gaze in the act. "Is it bad?" he asked expectantly of the gaping blond.  
  
Dino started and shoved the waiting food in his mouth rather awkwardly, chewing quickly and swallowing before taking another and a third. "Not at all!" he finally answered. "It's... exquisite. Some of the best food I've had in Japan." A pause. "Do you like it?"  
  
"It's excellent," Hibari replied calmly and resumed his meal.  
  
For a moment, Dino fought the urge to glance at the time, to make a note of it to remind himself later of the occasion. Here was Kyouya, quietly eating a private meal, without frowning and with no complaints. Even a compliment! And though it was for the food and not directly toward the Italian man himself, Dino couldn't quite bring himself to mind. "I'm glad," he answered.  
  
As the meal progressed, Hibari was inwardly impressed with how quietly and smoothly it went. Dino was strangely respectful of the cultural practices, he didn't jabber at all and was neat and poised. When the owner of the establishment came to see in on them, in his own quiet way, Hibari relayed his pleasure and his thanks. And when they were finished and sipping a last cup of tea, Hibari commented, "I didn't think you would be capable of presenting such an evening."  
  
It took a sincere effort for Dino to school his response into something quietly polite, but his true reaction still showed in his eyes as he dipped his head briefly and came up smiling. "It was more than worth the effort," was his answer.  
  
"And now?" Hibari wondered as he swirled the dregs in his tea.  
  
It seemed safe enough to reply, safe enough to assume that Hibari wouldn't become violent in a restaurant he respected, so Dino answered honestly. "You haven't seen the apartment I'm renting while I'm here in Japan... would you like to?"  
  
Hibari looked up at him for a moment, swirled his tea and took his time with the final sip. Finally, he answered. "Are all Italians so forward?" he wondered, tone unreadable.  
  
Dino laughed, only a little embarrassed. "Mostly," he admitted. Then, "Are all Japanese people so cautious?"  
  
"Am I cautious?" Hibari questioned.  
  
"I think so," Dino considered. "But maybe you just don't trust -me- yet?"  
  
"Maybe you just don't seem trustworthy," Hibari countered.  
  
"Am I that intimidating?" Dino asked, only the faintest spark of a tease in his eye.  
  
Hibari laughed -- he *laughed* -- but it wasn't with mirth but rather something more akin to spite. "You give yourself so much credit," he replied with one of his tiny, sour smiles.  
  
"You laughed!" Dino stared, clearly shocked and obviously not recognizing the gesture for the insult it was. "You actually laughed! Did it hurt? Did you strain anything?" His head began to tilt from side to side as though inspecting Hibari for damage.  
  
"Be quiet," Hibari said, suddenly scowling. "Don't act foolish. It wasn't a laugh, it was a scoff."  
  
Dino shook his head, clucked his tongue. "No... I know your scoffs. I'm quite familiar with them, actually. This... this was different." He reached out without warning, slim fingers taking hold of Hibari's chin, turning his cheek gently and then smiling as though he'd found what he was looking for. "Yep. Right there. I see it. Laughter leftovers. Oh, and a grain of rice." A brush of his thumb touched the corner of Hibari's mouth.  
  
"Stop that," Hibari grumbled, brushing Dino's hand away. He picked up the tea pot to test it -- empty. A petulant hesitation. "You're an idiot."  
  
"I know," Dino answered cheerfully, as if this knowledge didn't bother him in the least. "Do you want to see my apartment? You can criticize my taste in furnishings..."  
  
Hibari glared at him. For a long moment. Then, "Fine."  
  
There was no use trying to hide his grin, nor pretending he wasn't happy to hear Kyouya answer to the positive -- even if it was annoyed and grudgingly. Still, he hadn't threatened to break his jaw or bite him to death. That had to be a good sign, Dino decided.  
  
Romario rode in the back on the way to the apartment, too sloshed to drive. Dino took the wheel and turned on the radio, cheerful but quiet --uncharacteristically-- during the drive. When they pulled up to the building, Dino handed Hibari the key and took charge of leading his right hand upstairs.  
  
The Cavallone family had rented all the surrounding apartments, both upstairs and downstairs and those that shared the same hallway, and it was into the rooms next door that Dino deposited his subordinate, passing him gratefully into the hands of some other Family members before showing Kyouya to his place.  
  
"Here it is," he announced, gesturing to the simple door marked 206. "Take off your shoes," he reminded Hibari as he held open the door.  
  
Hibari didn't bother justifying that ridiculous quip and was silent as he stepped into Dino's temporary abode.  
  
Dino closed the door behind them, slipping out of his own shoes, but not bothering with slippers, happy to let his socked feet sink into the plush carpet. His apartment, being temporary, was fairly spartan, but still boasted some expensive looking leather furniture and heavy window coverings, plus two solid oak bookshelves and an ugly lamp which gave light to the room in addition to overhead lighting. Hibari couldn't see Dino's office from the entry way, but it was highly likely that the room was much messier than this one whose only clutter seemed to be around the television on the opposite wall where various video games were stacked on the floor around a well-worn console.  
  
Even if it was terribly western the place was at least spacious as not as messy as Hibari had expected. His eye was critical as usual as it roamed the room but he neglected to make any disparaging comments. In fact, the only thing he said when his gaze fell onto Dino was, "You look out of place." In reference to the hakama and haori he still wore.  
  
"Should I change?" Dino asked, only teasing a little.  
  
"No," Hibari replied frankly, ignoring his teasing tone. He studied Dino for a long moment and when he spoke again his words were masked with loftiness. "I like it."  
  
It wasn't that he was surprised by what Hibari said --after all, he'd worn the clothing because he'd wanted Kyouya to be more at ease and because he'd hoped he would like it-- but rather he was surprised that Hibari had -said- it. Despite the lofty, unconcerned tone, it was, as far as Dino was concerned, a compliment. "All right," he said and after a moment's hesitation, turned toward the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?"  
  
Hibari caught his sleeve before he could get too far, just two fingers that held fast. "No," he said, voice solid.  
  
Dino stopped, turned back to the dark eyed boy. "Kyouya?"  
  
"I don't need a drink," Hibari replied and he moved in such a way that it wasn't as though he'd moved at all. He was so smooth that he was just there and he was close and he was studying Dino again with those eyes that calculated everything and saw right through him. "Do you?"  
  
Dino blinked, then breathed. "No," he said, and he could smell Kyouya's shampoo. "I'm... just fine."  
  
Hibari's fingers trailed over the fabric of Dino's kimono briefly, then fell away and he stepped back. Without a second glance, he turned and crossed the living room to inspect the view and commented, "It's not as gaudy as I would have expected. From an illustrious mafia don."  
  
When Dino remembered how to breathe he followed Hibari, hands behind his back and gazing over the boy's shoulder, trying to follow his line of sight, but finding his eyes drawn only to Kyouya's reflection in the glass. "Well, you haven't seen the house back in Italy." He chuckled. "I'm sure it would give your stomach plenty to complain about."  
  
"Hm," Hibari seemed to agree. The view was fairly pleasant, of the park. He could have picked worse. He looked out silently for a long moment before his eyes focused and caught Dino looking at him. Even in his reflection, his gaze was piercing as he seemed to accuse and challenge Dino's own. So silent, so still.  
  
This time though, Dino didn't shrink from it, didn't act embarrassed to be caught staring. Instead, still watching Hibari's reflected, the young Italian slid a hand under his arm to rest warm and pointedly on the boy's chest. He pressed his cheek to Hibari's hair only briefly before dropping his lips to the tiny sliver of skin that showed above Kyouya's collar.  
  
Hibari watched in the window quietly, unmoving for a long moment as the warmth of Dino's lips touched soft against his skin. Blond hair tickled his ear. And then just ever so slightly, he was tipping -- just a little, a hint of acceptance or daresay invitation.  
  
Dino hummed quietly, low in his throat as he pulled back Hibari's collar, kissed lower, more firmly, his fingers tightening against the boy's chest as he pulled him in, flush to his body.  
  
A quiet sound came from between Hibari's lips -- something like a sigh but not the annoyed or flustered sort that was more common. This and with the way that he relaxed into Dino's arms, the way that he dropped his shoulder so that the fabric slid just a little lower... if he didn't know better, Dino might think that Hibari was actually asking for it.  
  
But of course, Dino knew the dangers of presuming with a person such as Kyouya and as such, he took his time, lifting a hand to tug gently at his collar, just enough to reveal another inch of skin, another inch to press his lips against. His other hand dropped to Hibari's waist, to the knot that held his robes closed. He didn't yet loosen it, only let his fingers rest there, a suggestion. When his moved his mouth away, Hibari's throat was pink and Dino's lips touched his ear, breath washing warm across his cheek. "Kyouya..."  
  
If it weren't for the proximity they shared, the tiny shiver that danced down Hibari's spine would have gone unnoticed. But with him held close, Dino could just barely feel it and Hibari turned his head to meet his eyes directly, lips nearly brushing. "Yes?" he murmured expectantly, as though daring Dino to continue his thought.  
  
It was almost enough to make the blond stumble over his words, the way Hibari merely looked at him, undisguised expectance in the gesture. He hadn't ever expected to get this far, for Hibari to let him get so far. "Kyouya," he said it again, as though sounding it out, as though it were only the second time he'd ever used the prefect's name so familiarly. "May I?" he asked, ever polite as his request touched Hibari's parted lips.  
  
Hibari turned slightly, ghosted back as Dino moved in. Keeping him just on the brink of a kiss but letting breath mingle. A hand came to rest lightly on the older boy's stomach, just above the knot in his hakama. "You're so polite," he murmured across Dino's lips. His tone was critical -- was he teasing?  
  
"I didn't want to ruin the evening's mood by being rude," Dino explained, a hand coming to close over Hibari's. Then he stepped back, toward the dark leather of the nearby sofa, not quite letting go the smaller boy's arm. "Won't you answer me?"  
  
"Hmmm..." Hibari let the sound purr on his tongue, let Dino guide him and turn him as he pleased, only stopping him when his calves touched the couch. "May you what?" he questioned. There was something strange in his eyes that looked suspiciously like mirth.  
  
Dino did his very best to let only the slightest grin show as he answered. "May I... join you on the couch?"  
  
"Hn," Hibari responded and sank quickly but gracefully down against the soft leather. "I suppose for now."  
  
Hibari was a little hesitant as they settled in but slowly he did lift his feet, adjusting his kimono as he moved. Dino was more natural -- Dino was always comfortable with touching others no matter who it was, though. For Hibari it was an odd thing and he had to fight his instincts as he sank down on the opposite end of the couch. He watched Dino suspiciously.  
  
Dino drew Hibari's legs onto his lap, tugging playfully at the tabi he still wore. "Don't you want these off?" he asked, unaware, or perhaps ignoring the boy's discomfort.  
  
"Nn," Hibari answered with a frown. "Why?"  
  
Dino lifted Hibari's foot with a grin, pretending to ignore the way the prefect's kimono slid, revealing pale skin up to his knee. "Won't you be more comfortable if you can move your toes?"  
  
"It makes no difference," Hibari replied shortly, adjusting the fabric with graceful modesty.  
  
"Okay." It was enough for Dino and without hesitating, he freed Hibari's feet from the stiff tabi, dropping them to the floor with only a little bit of carelessness. Before the prefect could protest, he took a bare foot in hand and began rubbing, gently at first, then with firmer touches, starting at his heel and working up to the pad of his foot, to his toes.  
  
Hibari seemed surprised, blinking several times. His toes twitched, leg muscles stiffened but then after a moment, seemed to melt. A quiet, low sound appeared from somewhere in Hibari's throat as he watched Dino's hands on his bare foot and slowly Dino could feel his weight settle. The younger boy's lids drooped just a little.  
  
Dino smiled quietly to himself as he took up Hibari's other foot, repeated the attention. This time, though, his fingers strayed farther, worked their way slowly up the boy's ankle, sought out the tension lingering in his calve.  
  
By now, Hibari's breath was slow and deep but he still watched Dino's actions with his ever careful eye. "This is foul play," he murmured but he gave a tiny little groan as strong hands squeezed at tight muscle.  
  
Dino's hand was on his knee, carefully, oh so carefully sliding under the edge of his kimono. He turned now, just enough to lean closer, one hand supporting his own weight by Hibari's hip as the other risked the boy's wrath with its brazen path.  
  
Hibari's lazy, relaxed gaze caught Dino's and held softly. It didn't flicker with anger or annoyance even as Dino's leather-worn fingers slid along milky skin beneath the cover of his kimono. "I don't have my tonfa," he all but purred. It felt like a trap -- like the jaws of a predator that lured him closer.  
  
Dino laughed quietly and bent to lay a kiss just above Hibari's knee. "You still have your teeth," Dino breathed into Kyouya's skin, willing prey purposefully stepping within the predator's reach.  
  
"I wouldn't want you to feel *safe*," Hibari replied easily. When fabric slid again, revealing smooth, pale skin, this time he didn't bother to replace it.  
  
"It wouldn't be much fun," Dino agreed, eyes hooded as he kissed higher, breath hot on Hibari's skin, fingers reaching for the edge of his kimono.  
  
Hibari's head tilted a little, relaxed and watching Dino's actions like a lazy cat. He even shifted his leg a little, giving Dino better access. "But you're not afraid," he observed quietly.  
  
"I guess not," Dino murmured, ignoring the part of his conscience that told him he aught to be. Instead, his hand shifted higher, until it disappeared entirely beneath the hem of Hibari's kimono and he leaned close enough to press his mouth to Kyouya's exposed collarbone.  
  
The dark haired boy hummed quietly, tilting his chin to the ceiling for a moment. But then he found purchase in the front of Dino's hakama and was tugging him closer, his grip sure and demanding as he guided the other boy. With a knee coming to settle between Hibari's thighs, there was so much heavy fabric between it and Hibari found it thrilling. So close, hands on each other but still held at bay. His neck arched, fingers in Dino's hair drawing him closer until he could press a strangely soft kiss against the blond boy's mouth. "You should be," he whispered with a seductive edge of danger in his voice.  
  
And despite Dino's answer, a chill ran down his spine at the easy threat, the invitation to danger, the deceptively gentle kiss. "Yeah," he agreed, lamely, entranced, aroused, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy laid out beneath him.  
  
That is, until the door to his apartment sprang open with a bang.  
  
"Careful, Gokudera-kun!" an oh so familiar, nervous voice cried. "Shouldn't we knock?"  
  
"Sorry, Juudaime!" came the apologetic response. "I'm sure he won't mind though -- we're all family, right?"  
  
"Wow, that guy has a really nice place," added a third, laughing voice. "Your mom must pay a lot for your tutoring, Tsuna!"  
  
To his credit, Dino neither fell off the couch nor accidentally injured Hibari in his rush to smooth his hair and sit up straight, turning to greet his sudden guests over the back of the sofa. He didn't think they'd noticed or could even see Hibari and he was going to do his best to keep it that way.  
  
"Tsuna!" he called cheerfully, forcing himself not to look down at the hidden boy he knew very well was quietly shooting daggers his way. "Um... is there something I can help you with?"  
  
"What are you -wearing-?" Gokudera interrupted.  
  
"Haha!" Yamamoto laughed. "That's a haori and kimono, Gokudera. You've worn them before too! Don't you remember that time--"  
  
"I know what it *is*," Gokudera snapped, punching Yamamoto in the arm. "I meant *why*, idiot!"  
  
"Sorry for being so unexpected!" Tsuna blurted sheepishly, trying to speak over his friends squabling. "We -- um -- since no one was training today, we wanted to surprise you -- since it's been a while since we did something fun together --"  
  
"It was the kid's idea," Yamamoto put in with a grin.  
  
Hibari's eyes narrowed, though he remained silent, squinting up at Dino. He didn't hear or sense anything to tell him that Reborn was near, however.  
  
Dino laughed a little nervously, though he tried his best to sound pleased. "That's really... kind! I mean, a great idea and I'd love to--" he could feel Hibari tense beside him "--but ah... I'm afraid I've fallen a bit behind in my paperwork..." Just a minute longer, they would go and be none the wiser, a little disappointed maybe but what else could he do?  
  
"Paperwork?" Gokudera said harshly, biting at an unlit cigarette between his teeth in a sneer. Yamamoto gave the mafia boss a little sympathetic smile.  
  
"Well -- maybe -- maybe we could help you?" Tsuna offered. "It'd be good experience for me, right? I'm sure Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun could help too."  
  
"It'd be really fast with four people doing it right?" Yamamoto agreed with a laugh. "Maybe we could finish early enough to go out."  
  
"Whatever Juudaime wishes," Gokudera agreed firmly.  
  
Well, shit.  
  
"No, no, really, it's fine!" Dino waved a hand awkwardly; the other was still on Hibari's leg, a reassurance perhaps, or maybe merely to steady himself. "Maybe we can plan something for tomorrow?"  
  
Gokudera was staring at him suspiciously. Dino rubbed at the back of his head apologetically. Hibari glared up at him balefully.  
  
"Are you okay, Dino-san?" Tsuna asked with a measure of concern.  
  
Hibari pinched the inside of his thigh.  
  
"I...ahh!" the young Italian did a poor job of hiding his reaction, hurried to continue. "Ah! Ha ha! I'm just... not... quite feeling myself this evening..."  
  
"Oi," Gokudera spoke up, glaring sharply at the Cavallone boss. " _Don't lie to the Tenth. What's going on?_ " The bomber's Italian wasn't as melodic as Dino's; it rolled in his throat like a growl.  
  
Dino blinked, " _No, no, nothing... really just... I mean, it's not a lie, exactly..._ " The words tumbled quickly from his mouth, embarrassed to be hiding his speech from the others. As if he hadn't already looked suspicious enough.  
  
A hand suddenly shot up and shoved at Dino's chest and Tsuna screamed and scrambled backwards, tumbling into Yamamoto. Hibari sat up, glaring daggers over the back of the couch at the three shocked teens.  
  
"Get. Out. Now."  
  
Gokudera looked like he might surge forward on pure fighter's instinct, but Yamamoto's hand was on his wrist and Tsuna was already backing toward the door like a scared rabbit.  
  
No one seemed to have noticed Dino toppling over the edge of the sofa with a yelp, or landing rather painfully on his back. It was the most he could do to just lay there, stunned for a moment.  
  
"Wh-what the fuck are -you- doing here?" Gokudera finally managed, one hand already closed on the dynamite in his pocket. Hibari was a threat, but he'd be damned if he let the Tenth see him behave with cowardice.  
  
"It's not your business," Hibari replied, cool but sharp. "You're not welcome here tonight. Now get out before I bite all three of you to death."  
  
The fiery young Storm Guardian took only one step forward before Yamamoto's hand moved to his shoulder. "Why don't the three of us get some ice cream! I'm sure Tsuna would let you pay for his. Do you remember his favorite flavor?"  
  
Gokudera was trembling faintly with anger but he calmed just a little with this suggestion, though his angry gaze didn't quite leave the threat that was now smoothing his kimono sleeves. "Fine," Gokudera snapped finally, letting Yamamoto guide him toward the door where Tsuna was staring with eyes like saucers. Yamamoto slung an arm around each of them and Gokudera added loudly, "Luckily our boss has better taste in companions."  
  
"S-sorry, Dino!" Tsuna finally managed to yelp as Yamamoto led them out. Before the door shut, the tallest boy looked over his shoulder and offered a grin and a wink to Hibari.  
  
The prefect made note to kill the baseball player later. Perhaps slightly less painfully than usual, but still. Kill him.  
  
Dino, meanwhile, had been able to come up with no good reason to lift himself off the floor. He was more than a little mortified and his shoulder was throbbing and he was certain that the last five minutes would add up to become one awful headache.  
  
If Reborn found out, he would never live this down. There was little chance of the young assassin approving of Dino's actions let alone allowing the whole thing to continue.  
  
"Well, fuck..."  
  
"What?" Hibari asked irritably as he sank back down and made himself comfortable again.  
  
A pause. "Look, Kyouya... I love your Famiglia like they were my own, but do you really think they'll keep quiet about this?" He hadn't ever noticed that crack in the ceiling before...  
  
"So?" Hibari replied, lifting his foot to remove the remaining tabi. Calm.  
  
"'So'?" Dino repeated, incredulous. He didn't want to have to say it. He didn't want to make it real by pointing out that he was the teacher and Hibari, the student, that they were from different Famiglia, that even if their friends would turn a blind eye, not everyone would, that, for all intents and purposes, he was taking advantage of a boy much younger than him. Maybe Kyouya didn't care. But Dino did.  
  
"You're so reactive," Hibari criticized and sighed faintly, letting his tabi drop to the floor. So much for the evening.  
  
Dino closed his eyes and laid his arm across them, echoing Hibari's sigh. "And you're either crazy or more innocent than I thought." A bad thing either way, really.  
  
Hibari was scowling faintly down at his bare feet. Then he sat up and started putting his tabi back on.  
  
Dino didn't look over at him, continued to talk to the ceiling. "Look, maybe in Italy it would be different... I don't know. But here... we're in Japan, you know? And, the truth is, maybe I'm just too--" The words caught in his throat and he swore quietly.  
  
"You're a contradiction," Hibari told him as he rose. "Thank you for dinner."  
  
"You're welcome," Dino finally mumbled, but the door had already closed.  
  
The next morning, when Romario let himself into Dino's apartment in search of painkillers, he found his boss asleep on the floor and was selfishly glad that all -he- had to worry about was a hangover.  
  
Then he helped Dino into bed and set about making breakfast.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days passed with no word from Hibari. Tsuna was polite enough not to say anything about the incident although he did blush hotly through most of their next tutoring session.  
  
A few days later, evening rolled around and Romario was outside for a smoke break after dinner when Hibari appeared from the inky darkness. He was perfectly calm, eerily so as he approached and murmured to the mafioso.  
  
"You need to go. All of you need to go."  
  
Romario blinked, surprised at the request, but not caught off guard by the boy's appearance. He'd expected him to come sooner or later. But to ask him to leave? "You know I can't do that, Master Hibari..." Whether or not the Cavallone trusted the Vongola, leaving Dino alone was putting him at his most vulnerable.  
  
For a moment, he considered. He could knock the man flat. He could make his way through the building and one by one, leave each of Dino's men unconscious. But it was terribly time consuming and plain inconvenient. So instead he spoke, using his words with a deadly, dark frankness. "If you  **ever**  want your boss to lose his virginity, you will give the order to the rest of the family to leave the building and trust me," he said quietly.  
  
Romario stared at the young Japanese man, the Vongola's Cloud and he narrowed his eyes as though trying read Hibari's true intentions from his body. There was a long, quiet moment as man and boy sized one another up. Neither blinked, neither stood down. Then a slim black phone was in Romario's hand and he hit a button and held it to his ear. "... The boss wants the whole building clear in five... No, I'm not fucking kidding. Make it happen...  _Ciao_." The phone returned to his pocket. He hadn't once broken eye contact with the boy standing before him. "If you let anything happen to him..."  
  
Hibari just closed his eyes and nodded once, as much as a deep bow coming from this boy. He passed Romario, paused and added over his shoulder. "At least two hours."  
  
He was stealthy as he made his way through the building. It was best that Dino's men not spot him, it would only cause needless concern. So he waited around corners as the dark suited men made their way out and took the stairs, listening carefully as he ascended. Dino's door was unlocked -- he wasn't sure if it was something Romario had arranged or if the blond boy was simply careless. Either way, Hibari entered silently, listening for a moment until he heard movement from the bedroom.  
  
When the door swung open, catching Dino off guard, he paused silently in the doorway for a moment.  
  
There was the sound of scuffling in the dark - Dino searching for the bedside lamp - and then the inevitable crash as the expensive ceramic hit the polished hardwood. "Shit..." came the mumbled reaction. "Romario?" he called, squinting at the form back-lit from the living room window and the faint glow of city streets below.  
  
"Not exactly," Hibari replied and tossed off his jacket, leaving the door open as he entered the room. He was still wearing shoes, clothes perfectly pressed as he crawled onto Dino's bed from the foot, climbing over him until he was shoving the larger boy back down. "But I can call him back if you'd prefer."  
  
Dino's breath hitched in his throat as he struggled to make out the boy's features in the dark. "Kyouya..." He tried to push Hibari back enough to sit up, but somehow only managed to get an ankle twisted in the sheets and thumped his head against the backboard. Clearly his body had, once again, betrayed him.  
  
Hibari plucked the whip that waited on the bedside table, ready in case of an emergency. It was almost too easy to take both of Dino's hands above his head and wind the strong leather around his wrists. He tied it off on one of the posts that decorated the top of the head board, leaving no slack. "It's for your own good," he explained as he sank back down, straddling Dino's stomach. When Dino's eyes started to adjust to the faint light, he could make out the hot danger that was in Hibari's eyes. He shifted enough to throw the blankets off his prey. "You're impossible," he murmured with as much malice as was witnessed before he administered discipline in the Namimori halls.  
  
"Kyouya..." Dino tried again, flexing his wrists against their ironic bonds, only the faintest hint of panic beginning to color his voice. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he felt quite certain that neither Romario nor any of his other men were nearby. The realization was one of both worry and relief. "What are you doing? We shouldn't--"  
  
"Shut up," Hibari said firmly and calmly a hand fisted tightly into Dino's hair as the younger boy's mouth was crushed to his. It wasn't quite like any kiss that Hibari had allowed him -- he was no longer tempting or seducing or even allowing. Instead he ravished Dino's mouth, rough and unrelenting as he forced the other boy's lips to part and accept him.   
  
It seemed there was little Dino could do to protest, and though uncertainty still hammered in his chest, he found himself pressing back, neck tight, arched to reach Hibari's mouth. When he finally broke away, falling back to the bed, panting just a little, he once again found Hibari's eyes. "Kyouya..." he breathed, the third time that evening, and already the word was taking on an intimacy he hadn't intended. He swallowed hard and tried again. "I'm almost twenty-four..."  
  
"So?" Hibari drew a flushing lip between his teeth, sucking at it briefly. Hands on either side of Dino's shoulders, the older boy bound, he was utterly trapped. Hibari's heat blanketed him, light weight against his chest. Breath ghosted with lips brushing along Dino's jaw.  
  
"Y-you keep saying that," Dino frowned, groaned as Hibari's touches brought shivers to his skin. "'So?', 'So?'... I'm -ah!- supposed to be your mentor... your teacher and  _senpai_... I'm not supposed to --ngh-- take advantage..."  
  
A cool hand slid under Dino's thin tank top and pinched hard at a nipple while teeth nipped at an ear. "You were never my *mentor*," he growled irritably. "You were my opponent. I learned from you the same as I learned from any enemy. Don't think so highly of yourself." His fingers soothed the skin he'd just abused while teeth toyed with Dino's ear between hot laps of tongue.  
  
Dino didn't seem convinced. He gasped under Hibari's teeth and shifted beneath his weight, but he didn't relax and his brow was still lined in concern. "Nevertheless..." he breathed, "It's not my place..."  
  
"Stop being pitiful," Hibari growled. He slid down, sitting firmly on Dino's lap, hands resting lightly on the larger boy's stomach. He peered calmly down at the blond. "Do you want me to leave?" he questioned.   
  
It was difficult to juggle the onslaught of sensations, impossible not to bristle at the accusation, impossible to ignore the tight arousal trapped beneath Hibari's weight. He met the prefect's eyes, desperation, annoyance, need, guilt, all expressed in a moment of eye contact. "... No..." he finally admitted, adding for his own conscience, "...but you should..."  
  
"I didn't ask for your opinion," Hibari murmured, leaning over slowly. When his lips found Dino's again it wasn't with quite the same violence. Instead he eased the other boy into a kiss, dared him not to like it as his tongue slid slow and confident past his lips. He kissed deep and slow and skillful, shifting his hips just so, as though the movement was unintentional. A hand was cool on Dino's flat stomach as Hibari meticulously undid him from his lips, seeming determined to smother every protest with them.   
  
It was hard to argue... tied up and held down, ravished with such calm skill and efficiency. He parted his lips to say something and barely managed to voice the pleased sigh that escaped his throat. Even if he'd been able, somehow, to work himself free, Dino had the suspicion that he'd have made it two steps before tripping over something or running into the doorjamb. Kyouya seemed to have that effect on him. Only sometimes, though... He might have thought to wonder why, but then Hibari's teeth were on his throat and every thought was wiped clean from his mind.   
  
The prefect was brazen, no hint of hesitation in his motions -- not as he pushed Dino's thin tank top up around his arm pits and found a followed trails of ink to a firm nipple. Meanwhile as his tongue reached out, tracing goosebumps, the heel of a palm found its way into his lap. Thin boxers did little to hide the arousal appearing beneath, especially when fingers traced and worked at it without apology and teeth scraped and tugged at sensitive flesh.   
  
All of a sudden, in one smooth move, Kyouya had taken them past every boundary they hadn't crossed and all Dino could do was gasp and arch into his touch, praying he didn't do something stupid like slam his head against the wall, or Kyouya.   
  
Hibari was so perfectly composed as he sat up again, still dressed and crisp and calm as he sat on Dino's thighs and pushed down his boxers. He didn't so much as bat a lash, watching the older boy's face as his fingers curled around his heating erection and stroked confidently. His expression was as though Dino belonged to him, as though he owed something to Hibari while fingers urged him into full hardness. A graceful thumb rubbed along his length, flicked rough across his tip and Hibari didn't even blush.   
  
If Dino had any control of his mental facilities, he might have thought to wonder how a junior high student could be so unflappable, so confident and frankly knowledgeable about... the whole thing. As it was, the pure sensation of his cool fingers, his swiping thumb, the shift of weight on Dino's thighs... all of it added up to the sort of arousal that pushes everything else to the background. The Italian watched Hibari's face intently, face hot and eyes wide, hair already tangling, half obscuring his vision --a frustration, as all he wanted was to see Kyouya, to met his gaze.   
  
There was something almost like a smile on Hibari's mouth as he watched the older boy, pleased as he watched the blush creeping down his chest. He was pleasant like this, incapacitated and flushed and aroused to quietly panting speechlessness. Still using a hand to continue slowly, and with cruel distraction, he slid off a shoe, then switched hands for the other. Then socks, undressing himself slowly and neatly. Fingers plucked lightly at buttons until his shirt fell open but stayed on his shoulders. He squeezed hard at Dino's base with one hand while he tugged at his own zipper.   
  
Dino watched, completely entranced, as Kyouya slowly bared himself, one piece of clothing at a time. It wasn't anything at all like he'd imagined. He couldn't possibly have imagined this-- Kyouya straddling his legs and taking his time, teasing with his pace, his hints of skin, his refusal to let Dino free to touch. The young Italian groaned quickly, aching in every sense of the word, lips dry and hungry again. " _Kyouya_...." he mouthed,  _begged_.   
  
When Hibari finally did release him it was because he needed both hands to slide free of his slacks which he neatly placed aside with his underwear and when he settled over Dino's thighs again, he was naked from the waist down. With only his open shirt left as a garment, he showed no signs of shyness or humility even when his own arousal brushed Dino's as he settled. From his slacks, he plucked a packet which he tore in his teeth and poured calmly over Dino's cock. It heated under stroking fingers when Hibari took him up again in slow, firm strokes and murmured on a breath, "Yes?"   
  
But if Dino had meant to say anything, any further words died on his tongue as his foggy mind began to process just what Hibari intended. "O-oh..." he choked quietly, staring down at the boy's slender hands, now slick and shining in the swatches of street light that filtered into his room. When he found Hibari's dark eyes, he could only swallow hard and wait.   
  
Hands were sticky-wet on Dino's stomach as he shifted, using the surface to balance as he poised himself over Dino, so damnably sure of himself. Hibari never hesitated in anything. If he ever had a doubt, no one would be sure to see it. This moment was no exception and he was completely in control when he met Dino's eyes and whispered, "Itadakimasu." He was ready for Dino -- he was tight but slick and barely tensed as he moved slow but sure onto him. There was a part to his lips, a quiet sigh, fingers dug just faintly at tight muscle.   
  
Dino's stomach jumped to his throat, and his pulse dropped to fill the sudden hollow in his middle. Breathing was suddenly a challenge and he was far, far too heated. "Oh," he managed. "Oh  _God_." He'd slipped into Italian, no concentration left for second languages. " _You... you_ ," he swallowed and tried again, this time finding the Japanese he needed. "Yes... please. Kyouya..."   
  
It wasn't just distraction that stilled Hibari's tongue from silencing the other boy. The thought occurred to him that it was perhaps the first time that Dino's voice actually inspired not only not disgust but in fact carnal pleasure inside him. The whispered foreign language that fell from his lips, the quiet begging that was aimed for him. This he liked from Dino's lips. Curling in, he sank down lower onto Dino's heat, his breath shuddering with the fullness that came with it. His hair tickled Dino's face, his breath slow and hot over his mouth as he pressed down for the first time into his lap. His body quivered for a moment and then he sighed deeply, their open lips brushing.   
  
Dino reached for his mouth, arching upward, a man dying of thirst, waiting for the last drop of water to fall. Hibari was tight and hot and unlike anything he could remember, overwhelming and perfect and how he could have ever thought he'd be able to keep himself away from -this-... he didn't know. His fingers ached to take hold of Kyouya's hips, to bury himself deeper.   
  
But though Hibari let lips slide, hot and breathy, he controlled Dino completely. They were his kisses, it was his pace and he allowed Dino only to partake as much as Hibari pleased. His movements were excruciatingly slow, a quiet hum into Dino's wet mouth as he coaxed the Italian's tongue into his own. The heat of the lubricant he'd used crept up Hibari's spine as they moved and he shuddered heavily as he rose and slowly sank back down so completely until he ended each stroke pressing Dino's hips into the mattress with a grind. He was too expert, too confident -- even when he moaned so quietly into the blond boy's mouth.   
  
A heavy shiver took hold of Dino's frame, fingers clenching on air as he swallowed the quiet sounds from Hibari's throat, lathing tongue against tongue, giving in to Kyouya's demands with little struggle, hardly a protest. Not with the boy riding him slow and hard into the bed, intent, it seemed, on making the young Italian pass out before bringing him to pleasure. Sweat beaded on Dino's brow, fine blond hair slicked to his skin, tickling his cheek. He wanted to hear Kyouya's voice, again. When next Hibari leaned close enough for a deep kiss, Dino took his lower lip between his teeth, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to be a plea.   
  
Somehow it wasn't shocking when Hibari hummed into that touch and brushed his own tongue across Dino's lip, tasting the salt he found there. He could feel his shirt starting to stick to his back but didn't relinquish it -- by now, he was far too distracted with the slow breath that filled his ears and the subtle arch and bend of Dino's body as they found one another. He wasn't quite as clumsy as Hibari had expected, a pleasant surprise that he didn't have to further restrain the older boy. But there was a moment when hips met with just a bit more force than might have been intended and Hibari gasped quietly, hands clenching in Dino's rumpled tank top.  
  
For a moment, Dino could only stare; he'd never heard such a sound from Kyouya's mouth and it stoked something in him, made the ache between his legs throb in time to his quickened pulse. Hibari's face was visibly heated, lips flushed and swollen, parted, panting quietly. Dino didn't think he'd ever seen anything more beautiful. He wanted to ask if the boy was okay, but he knew such a question would only irritate him and sour the expression that was, in the Italian's opinion, nothing short of perfect.   
  
Fingertips dug hard at Dino's chest and with a sharp breath, he crushed the taller boy into the pillows and sheets. Teeth savaged lips and tongue as Hibari controlled the slow, hard pace, the bed starting to creak beneath them. A hand spread up Dino's throat, tight over the bob of his breath for a moment before it moved to sweaty blond hair where fingers tangled. He pulled smartly, tongue deep in the heat of Dino's mouth when a sound, quiet, animal, demanding vibrated against his lips. A tiny drop of heat on his stomach registered somewhere in the back of Dino's mind though Hibari seemed not to even acknowledge the unattended hardness dripping between them.  
  
Dino shuddered, mouth stilling as Hibari's teeth closed hard on his lip, hands pulling until his scalp ached. He barely noticed. "Kyouya..." It was the only word he knew, the only sound he could utter around harsh breath and bruised tongue. He wanted to touch every inch of Hibari's skin, to press his face, his mouth, his fingers across every flush. Because he couldn't, because his wrists were still bound tight, all Dino could do was arch higher, push into and against Kyouya's body.   
  
Hibari echoed the shiver, jerking back just a little, wet threads clinging between their lips for a moment. "Nngh," came a fresh groan from Hibari's mouth with the added friction as his prey arched into him. He'd been skillfully ignoring his own arousal until that moment but when the curve of Dino's back trapped him between their sweaty stomachs, his body protested sharply with a harsh throb. His panting quickened, eyes clouding as he bucked and ground into hot, slick flesh. "Ah--" Shoulders were tense, a tiny shake starting to form at the base of the younger boy's spine. Hands grabbed at the sheets on either side of Dino, the bed protesting as he upped the ante, making his own breath quicken with the pace.  
  
It was all the permission Dino needed. Hibari's speed and movement, his hooded eyes, half-focused but still steady and boring into Dino's, and the way his lips remained parted, the sheen of saliva still wetting his mouth. The young Italian swore quietly and thrust roughly into Hibari's rhythm, disturbing it only for a moment before falling into pace, meeting each movement with enough force to blur his vision, to send waves of heat quivering through his stomach and down his thighs. "Oh God, Kyouya...  _please_ ," he pleaded, no shame left for hesitation, no embarrassment in begging for what he wanted.  _Needed_.  
  
Another growl came but it wasn't warning as Dino might have expected. Instead it was low and pleased as his hips rolled, holding him tight and deep, just as unashamed as Dino as he panted hard. Jet hair was sticking to his cheeks and he smiled just faintly, the sort of smile that might be seen before he broke a femur. He kissed lightly at Dino's mouth as though tasting his begging pleas. Then nails were digging into a shoulder, clenching tight enough to make the crescents bead crimson under his grip. "Nnn... hah.." A sound caught in his throat, not quite kissing but lips brushing, bumping as Hibari's brow furrowed tight and his eyes shut. And then with a shudder and a quiet gasp, he clenched hard and tight at Dino and in the close, sweaty space they shared, the younger boy pulsed hot and dripping over Dino's quivering skin. He bit at the other's mouth through his quiet but shaking climax, teeth scraping across his lips until he jerked back with one final gasp.   
  
The young Cavallone hardly felt Hibari's nails break his skin, never noticed the blood that welled over sweat slick skin, saw nothing, felt nothing but Kyouya. The tightening of muscle, the pull of tendons, the boy's gasping breath and unabashed pleasure painting his tattooed torso... all of it almost made him forget his own body, forget that he was doing any more than watching, soaking in the sight, the feel, the smell and taste of the Vongola's Cloud-- no-- Kyouya. His Kyouya.   
  
And then Hibari moved again, gasping and sitting straight and reminding Dino that he -was- there, not just watching, experiencing, memorizing, but also letting Kyouya do all those things as well. Panting heavily, flushed and sweaty, letting all of his weight rest on their joining. Relishing his own afterglow, he rode hard onto Dino's bucking, drinking in the prone blond, bound and disheveled and pleading for him. Even though he still hadn't caught his own breath, he was completely in control, fingers rubbing his own come into Dino's skin.  
  
And now, there was something that the prefect still wanted from him. Dino's body responded in earnest, every muscle clenching tight enough that his mouth was left open, voiceless, his lips numb pinpricks and white noise swelled behind his eyes.   
  
He shouted when he came, a choked bark of shock, relief, pleasure. And Kyouya's name.   
  
A smile graced Hibari's lips, fingers trailing down Dino's throat as he shivered and arched beneath him. His own shudder rippled through him as he felt Dino spill deep inside of him, eliciting a tiny sound in Hibari's throat. Not once did he protest the sound of his own name, even cried in Dino's throes, instead he seemed to relish it. He was silent as they slowed to shivers and quakes, his thighs trembling and stomach fluttering.   
  
Dino's eyes were closed, as though the sight of Hibari were too much to take in, and his skin shivered as though he were cold, though sweat still dampened the sheets beneath him, and flush still colored his throat and chest. Kyouya's fingers chased gooseflesh and drew quiet, huffing sighs from the Italian's abused lips. It was many minutes before Dino's frame began to finally relax, before his eyes fluttered open just enough to see if Hibari was watching.   
  
Hibari gave a breathy sigh, running a hand through his inky hair just enough that when it fell back, it didn't stick wetly to his skin. He sank down with an arm across Dino's chest. "I like you better this way," he murmured very quietly.   
  
Dino surprised himself by finding his voice, laughing a little, just a huff of breath. "Tied up?" he asked.   
  
"The begging helps too," Hibari admitted with one of his tiny, cat-like smiles.   
  
Dino pouted only a bit, and found when he turned his head, he could bury his nose in Hibari's hair. "Hey," he whispered. "Untie me? Please... Kyouya?" Despite the words, it sounded like a different question, and Dino's breath was hot against Hibari's forehead.   
  
Hibari sighed as though terribly inconvenienced and again as he shifted and let the other boy slide free of his body. He rose up onto his knees as he felt deftly in the dim light to undo Dino's bonds, letting the whip fall aside.   
  
Dino sighed, relieved, stretched his wrists and rubbed the reddened skin. "You're impossible," he murmured, but then his fingers were in Kyouya's hair and on his neck and shoulders and skimming down the boy's sides to grip at the hips his hands had been denied. Then firm but gentle, he was pulling the smaller boy down beside him. "Mm.... so this is how you feel..." his words tasted Hibari's mouth.   
  
The prefect seemed torn between irritation, pleasure and afterglow, just holding back from a real kiss. "Don't complain," he breathed back, a low rattle in his throat. "You would have taken forever."   
  
Dino chuckled quietly, setting a knuckle against Hibari's temple in a lazy mock punch. Then he moved closer to kiss the same place. "I wasn't complaining," he argued, kissed Hibari's jaw. "And anyway, how would you know?" Those his words pouted, his voice stayed the same silky calm, not unlike the way he spoke his native tongue.   
  
"I know," Hibari replied darkly. He should have been leaving. After all, he'd done what he came to do. But somehow he wasn't as inclined as he expected to get up and redress himself, even if he felt strange accepting Dino's cloying affection. Also, no one had lost an eye yet which told him that Romario had returned, traitorous.   
  
"Hmm," now Dino -was- pouting, but he didn't remove his lips from Kyouya's skin, didn't move away to let him go. Instead he slide his arm under Hibari's head, let his fingers trail once more down the other boy's side, his ribs just a little too prominent, his hip, a shart point jutting from soft skin. "Maybe I'd have taken forever," he admitted. "But I'd have made every minute worth it."   
  
"Hn," Hibari responded but he didn't resist, allowing Dino's hands to smooth across his cooling skin. He was strangely relaxed and his voice lacked its normal biting tone. "I have better things to do than wait."   
  
It was easy enough for Dino to ease Kyouya down beside him, to exchange places so he lay over Hibari, one leg sliding up between his, tangling their ankles and sharing the heat that still lingered on their skin. "Then I won't make you wait."  
  
When Dino eased him onto his back, it made Hibari want to bite him. He allowed it though, if only out of the curiosity of what the other boy would do. "Your men will have returned..." he remarked, having a distinct impression that Romario must be very close by for Dino to be so cool and in control. "I sent them away."   
  
Dino's hand stilled, suddenly hesitant, and for a moment it seemed that, for once, his Famiglia's presence would work against him. But he didn't fall or accidentally punch Hibari, he just let his head hang a little lower and hesitated. "Kyouya... they can't know..."   
  
"Hm?" Hibari said shortly, emotionless as he peered up at Dino. "Oh?"   
  
Dino frowned, ducking to press his nose at Hibari's throat. "I'm serious... You're hardly in high school..."   
  
Hibari paused for a beat. "I'm eighteen."   
  
Dino's pause was shorter. "What?"   
  
"I'm eighteen," Hibari repeated, nonplussed.   
  
Dino blinked, still, apparently, not quite grasping it. "You are?"   
  
"Yes." Still no emotion on the prefect's face.   
  
Dino propped himself up on one hand and punched Hibari with the other.   
  
Even Hibari wasn't prepared for such a sharp shift in the mood and was openly surprised, hand going to his bruised mouth while the other grabbed for the front of Dino's shirt, immediately on the offensive. "What's that for?" he spat, irritated.   
  
"Y-you!" Dino snapped, "You let me think you were hardly 15, made me worry all this time that I was..." he waved his hand dramatically, searching for the words, "-warping- your innocence, that I was some sort of dirty old man! You -knew- and you waited until -now- to correct me!"   
  
"You never asked my age," Hibari pointed out with a sneer.   
  
Dino gaped. "You're in  _junior high_ , Kyouya. And unless I seriously overestimated you, I somehow doubt you've been held back for four years. How could I possibly think you could be any older than 15 at the most?"   
  
Hibari just shrugged.   
  
Dino swallowed the urge to punch him again. Instead he caught Hibari's defensive stare with his own narrowed eyes and spoke in a voice as calm as he could muster. "Kyouya... why is an eighteen year old still in Junior High?"   
  
An annoyed sigh gusted from Hibari's lips, the (still) younger boy looking away and then closing his eyes. "When I was a first year, I commandeered the Disciplinary Committee. By my third year, Namimori had entered a time of peace the likes of which the school had never seen. It used to be quite a troublesome school. When it was time for graduation, the staff offered me a position to stay on to maintain the conditions I'd instilled. So I did."   
  
Dino paused. "You're getting paid to be a bully?" He seemed surprised, oddly enough.   
  
Hibari lifted a brow. "And you run the Cavallone bakery?"   
  
Dino let out a pouting breath. "Hey, I graduated high school first. I started taking the full load of Cavallone's responsibilities at the same time I was getting my degree."   
  
"A late bloomer," Hibari finished, completely deadpan. He was definitely making fun of Dino.   
  
Dino bristled visibly, rolled away to sitting. "I started training with Reborn when I was Tsuna's age!" He was definitely taking Hibari's bait.   
  
For just a moment, it looked like Hibari might actually laugh. There was a long pause as he efficiently swallowed this impulse. Then, "You do realize the age of consent in this prefecture is 15."   
  
Dino opened his mouth, angry and ready to argue before a look of surprise crossed his face. "It is?" Then his eyes narrowed as though he thought Hibari might be lying. "I thought everything was 18 or 20 in Japan..."   
  
"It depends on location," Hibari replied, unconcerned. "Also, isn't it 14 in Italy, anyway?" Incredulous.   
  
Dino sputtered, "Well yes but-- but that makes no difference -here-. I mean, even if I took you back to Italy with me people would still... I mean I'm still 24 and you... I'm sorry, Kyouya, but you don't look eighteen..."   
  
"Hm," Hibari replied vacantly, clearly caring little for Dino's plight. There was a long pause. Then, firmly, "I want you to."   
  
Dino blinked, clearly thrown. "What?"   
  
"When you return to Italy, I want to go with you. I'm bored." He caught Dino's gaze then, without hesitation.   
  
Dino watched him suspiciously, but Kyouya didn't seem to be teasing him anymore. "What about your disciplinary committee?" he asked.   
  
"Tetsu can take over," Hibari replied carelessly and closed his eyes again. "I need something challenging."   
  
Dino still wasn't convinced. "What about Vongola?"   
  
"What about it?" Hibari asked irritably. The details of the family business that he was caught up in were meaningless and dull to him. "Is it not in Sawada's best interest for me to strengthen and learn?"   
  
"We--ell...." Dino scrubbed the back of his head. "I guess I could ask Reborn..."   
  
"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Hibari asked though it didn't sound like he cared.   
  
The young Italian considered this for a moment, frowning in thought. Then he reached down and cuffed Hibari's chin. "Don't think I've forgiven you...." He grumped, crossed his arms and offered Kyouya a most professional glare. "But anyway, I'm the fuckin' Cavallone boss. Who's gonna say anything?" Dino's confidence seemed to grow with each of his own words.   
  
Hibari snorted quietly, closing his eyes for another moment before he sat up as though he had just realized that they were sharing something that was suspiciously close to pillow talk. He reached for his clothes which were still neatly folded on the side of the bed.   
  
"Hey!" A hand swatted his fingers just as they reached the neatly folded pants. "What are you doing?"   
  
Eyes flashed at this action, as though Hibari were about to pummel him. "I'm getting dressed. It's late."   
  
"You're staying here," was the definitive response, Dino's voice clearly leaving no room for argument.   
  
"You don't have that kind of control," Hibari shot back at him.   
  
"And you don't have the leg strength."   
  
Hibari eyed him with irritation for a moment, then rose to his knees. He himself was surprised when his thighs trembled with the effort and he sank back down and turned his murderous gaze on Dino.   
  
Resisting the temptation to say 'I told you so' was harder than he'd expected, but Dino persevered and managed to even bite his lip against too smug a grin. "I'll give you a ride to school tomorrow," he offered.   
  
"I hate you," was Hibari's response as he finally shrugged out of his wrinkled shirt.   
  
Now Dino did smile. "It's nice to know sex hasn't changed our friendship," he purred, helping Kyouya with the garment and letting it drop to the floor.   
  
"Hn," Hibari replied, considering protesting about the treatment of his clothes. He decided it wasn't worth the effort and sank down against the sheets.   
  
The Cavallone decided he liked this post-coital Kyouya. He was easier to talk into things and he didn't even try to kill you when you punched him for perfectly good reasons. And he was naked. That was definitely a plus. Dino kissed his shoulder lightly as he slipped back into the bed beside him.  
  
"So..." Hibari's eyes closed. And he gave one of his tiny, devious smiles. "Are you disappointed that I'm not 14?"   
  
Another nice thing about being like this was how easy it was to reach over and deliver a truly cruel pinch to the inside of Kyouya's thigh.   
  
Hibari grunted, a sound that was on par with a yelp from the boy's lips and he elbowed Dino in the chest.   
  
Dino took the blow with a huff and then sighed happily, the offending hand now snaking around Kyouya's waist to pull him close, tight against his own bare torso. "Are you disappointed that I'm not still tearing my hair out and working us both into a frenzy of unresolved sexual tension because I -think- you're 14?"   
  
"Not really," Hibari replied. He was a little tense beneath Dino's attention but didn't struggle or pull away.   
  
"Oh, good." Dino's chin rested easily now, just above Hibari's mussed hair. "Any more questions?" he mumbled, just a little sleepily.   
  
"Do you snore?" Hibari demanded. He had never spent the night in another's bed and would not feel the least bit guilty if he killed Dino in his sleep.   
  
"Dunno," the Italian answered honestly, though exhaustion was clearly dulling his capacity to care. "Do you?"   
  
"No," Hibari snapped back. He was still tense. "I'll bite you to death if you wake me."   
  
A quiet laugh and Dino's breath was in Hibari's hair again. "Hai, hai... I won't wake you up. Cranky..." Slender fingers found the back of Hibari's neck, just above his shoulders, began to rub, knead gently but firm at the knotted muscle there. "Relax..."   
  
"I haven't done this before," Hibari said irritably, pressing his cheek into the pillow. Accosting Dino sexually in the middle of the night seemed to be no problem, but sharing a bed with him was downright difficult.   
  
"I promise I don't kick," Dino replied, his fingers continuing to rub, searching for the right spot, the right amount of pressure that would make each knot come undone.   
  
Hibari grumbled but he started to relax and gave a faint sigh as Dino worked at his muscle, surprisingly skilled. He fell silent, tension slowly coming undone.   
  
"There you go..." Dino murmured, not yet moving away, kissing the back of Hibari's head as his fingers worked. "Get some sleep, Kyouya... I'll wake you in the morning."   
  
"You want to die..." Hibari muttered into the pillow but he had melted and the threat didn't come with much gusto.   
  
"Mm," Dino grinned, realizing his mistake, but taking no step to correct his words. An argument would take far too much energy and Hibari was finally relaxed. "You can bite me to death later, Kyouya. Sleep now."   
  
Hibari offered no further argument, listening silently as Dino's breath evened. It took him a long time to fall asleep that way, listening to the older boy's sleeping breath, feeling the arm around his waist and the warmth at his back. He considered slipping away while the blond slept but somehow sleep came to him before he could act on the thought.


End file.
